Just Three Simple Words
by Mouserocks-nerd
Summary: Short little one-shots of Lois and Clark's lives after SR; each chapter will center around three crucial words to the plot of the chapter. Please read and review!
1. Three Terrifying Words

**A/N: **I know, this has probably been done a lot, but I had to do it. It's just gonna be a series of one-shots that go thru Lois and Clark's lives, each chapter revolving around three words that define the situation. Wanted to do something that took little effort and wasn't a huge long epic. :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own superman, nor any of the characters, scenery, conflict, or words in the english language found in this story... but then again, who does?

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Three Terrifying Words

Lois held it together. It was just what she did. She attacked problems head-on. She stalked her leads voraciously, went after the next big scoop and no one could ever get in her way. She wasn't the type to get herself worked up over something trivial- even things that were a lot more important- life and death, even.

And especially not over a man.

Then why was she now?

She had moved on. She'd lived without him all these years- didn't need him to save her on a daily basis, didn't need him to sweep her off her feet. Didn't even need him to help raise their son.

And yet now, all in a moment, everything had changed.

She found it nearly impossible to hold herself together as she stared into the depths of her computer monitor at her desk, her son's earlier statement ringing in the back of her mind. Briefly the image of Jason standing shell-shocked where a piano had once been passed across her mind. How could this have happened? How? What was she supposed to say about the matter? Jason was the son of Superman; and now the man may never know he had fathered a child.

_"Is he okay?"_

Those three, simple words had shook Lois to her core. God, they were so simple, yet absolute in the measure of terror they held for her. Something she might have asked Jason after skinning his knee, or a friend who looked upset. But this situation was far graver.

This time, Superman had fallen from the sky.

She knew on the plane he was in bad shape. She had been the one to pull out the kryptonite dagger- and she wasn't sure she'd even got it all. But good ol' Superman- selfless, good-hearted Superman- had leapt out of the seaplane anyways, despite her protestations. She knew what kryptonite could do to him, she knew he would die if he did what he had done. All she could manage to tell him at the time was "you're hurt." He seemed to understand what she meant anyways though, but in the end, it had made no difference in swaying his opinion.

_"Goodbye Lois."_

Such finality, such seriousness and emotion behind his words, that she couldn't help but feel it would be the last time she spoke to him. Part of her wanted to tell him everything in that moment: that he didn't have to sacrifice himself for the world, that Jason was really his son, that she still loved him- _Loved him?_ Had she really just acknowledged that? Did she love him?

She sighed and discreetly brushed a tear from her eye. But she knew he had to do it. He had to save the world. It was what he did. He couldn't sacrifice the entire planet for himself. Besides, if he didn't try, chances were nobody would live, himself included.

_"Is he okay?"_

_"Goodbye Lois."_

Jason suddenly approached her, handing her a drawing of their family being rescued by Superman. Or rather, Superman saving his family, with Richard thrown in the mix. She was mystified by how obvious it was now, how easy she could separate them all. She muttered some words of thanks to her son, her amazing, miracle of a son, and once again found herself on the brink of tears.

_"Goodbye Lois."_

Every news station was reporting on the story, footage of her son's father lifting a poisonous island into space, then falling from the sky. People swarmed Metropolis General, hoping against hope that he would suddenly reappear in his suit with a smile and a nod, popping out as if to say "just kidding!" and then fly off to rescue a kitten from a tree. She longed for it as much as the next person- more even, considering the circumstances. But she had seen his wounds, heard the resolution in his voice as he flew off, and had little reason for hope.

_"Is he okay?"_

She had no answer for her son. Nothing was okay. She was not okay. Her family was not okay. _He_ was not okay.

She could only pray that he would be.

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**A/N:** Review please!


	2. Three Amazing Words

**A/N:** Had to do more while I had a brief bit of time... no time for an epic of course, but this will have to do. :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Superman. 'Nuff said.

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Three Amazing Words

How could this have happened? In such a short period of time, his life had turned upside down about three times. But this was the biggest change. Nevermind the fact that he had almost just died.

Three little words. Amazing words. Absolutely incredible words. And he didn't even get a chance to respond to them.

_"Jason's your son."_

Clark never knew words could possibly sound so wonderful. God, they were glorious. Son. Such an odd, wonderful little word- fitting for a wonderful little being that was a miracle in all aspects of the word. A miracle that he- Clark Kent, Superman, Kal'El- could even have a child, being what he was. Let alone the fact that it was a miracle that he was born by the woman who was the love of his life, and a miracle that his son had been able to live such a wonderful life thus far.

When he had finally awoken, Lois and Jason had gone. But he had a huge smile on his face, one that he never allowed Superman to wear. Quickly taking in his surroundings with his bright blue eyes, he noticed his suit on the chair.

His smile widened, and he separated himself from the machines he was attached to and untangled himself from the sheets of the hospital cot. Standing up, Clark decided to test his powers before jumping out the window- just to be on the safe side. He could only imagine Lois's reaction as she was given her next assignment at the Planet: _Superman Commits Suicide Out of Hospital Window, Right After Lois Lane Visits!_ He imagined Perry would come up with a more clever title, but he didn't care about that right now. All that mattered was that he was alive, and he had a son.

Clark let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, willing himself to float above the cold tiles of the hospital floor. He was gratified as he felt himself hover uncertainly, bobbing slightly up and down as his body got used to the exertion (or rather lack of it) once again of having a kryptonite-free body. He grinned, and then spun around really fast, just to make sure he could still do it. Check. Perhaps Jason being there had provided him with enough of a surge of energy to allow him to recover quickly.

He had felt it when his son- he allowed himself a happy chuckle at the thought- had kissed him lightly on the forehead. His lips had burned there, all of Clark's senses drawn to the spot. At first Lois's kiss had affected him the most, but nothing compared to the feeling of knowing he had a son- and he had kissed his father.

Then Clark caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror across the way, seeing the back of the hospital gown, and instantly turned a bright shade of red. Embarrassed by the very obvious lack of material across his backside, he immediately spun into his suit, despite the tear and all of the blood on it. Sighing with relief, he caught a wiff of a certain smell on his suit- light, but distinct. He smiled as he suddenly recognized it as his son's scent, and his heart leapt up in his chest. Instantly he knew he had nothing to worry about with his powers- as it was he felt like floating six inches off the ground. And he was pretty sure he was.

Grinning from ear to ear, he opened the window, breaking the lock on it with little effort, and did something he rarely, if ever allowed himself to do in his Superman personna.

He laughed.

Clark jumped, allowing himself a moment to just fall, really only dipping a little bit in the crisp air outside the hospital. Then he shot up with all his speed and strength, rocketing through the atmosphere faster than he could have ever thought possible, even for him, spinning around in midair as he laughed.

_"Jason's your son."_ Three little words had changed his life forever. It didn't matter that he had just almost died a day or so beforehand, or that Lois didn't come running back to him the second he returned to earth. In that moment it didn't even matter that he had left her alone with his child for five years- though no matter where things went from here, he swore he would always be making amends for that. Point was, it didn't matter right now. He let himself bask in the knowledge of the fact that Jason was his son. He had a son. It was amazing. He never thought he could feel this way.

Dousing himself in the rays of an entirely different type of sun, which he realized he had flown high above Metropolis to reach, he felt like a completely new person. The light from the yellow ball of heat soaked into his otherwise impenetrable skin, and Clark found himself feeling better than he had ever before. In space, where there was no sound, he allowed himself to shout with joy, proclaim to the universe his complete and utter happiness, his love, his son. The lack of oxygen didn't do much to stymie his happiness or his breath- he could last much longer up there if he had wanted to, drinking in the sun's rays. But he found he couldn't stay still, couldn't contain himself any longer.

Every part of him grinned- Clark, Kal'El, and Superman- and in that moment he decided there was something he had to do. Now.

He needed to see his son.

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**A/N:** So it's kinda short. Your point? More will come, I promise, and I will travel beyond "SR" soon (next chapter maybe? ) Anyways, review please! A few seconds of your time can make my entire day! 0.o _What? Really?_ What a deal!

**So Review!**


	3. Three Relieving Words

**A/N:** Really short chapter. REALLY short. As in, Yoda-short. This note and the disclaimer probably makes up about half of the word count. No joke. :) It had to be written, even though it was such a short interaction in the movie. I felt like there wasn't much else to say here, so yeah. Review, please! Should i have expanded it? Let me know.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything regarding the concept, creation, distribution or publication of the Superman series or franchise.

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Three Relieving Words

Lois let out a huge sigh of relief as she watched him fly away, his red cape fluttering in the wind behind him, knowing as much as he did how glad she was to see him alive. He had tried to be so formal, acting as normal as he ever did with her, but his bright blue eyes and barely contained smile gave him away. He was ecstatic. Lois had no doubt that the discovery of him having a child helped his recovery along. And she liked to think she could take at least _some_ of the credit for that.

So there he stood- er, hovered- leaving his son's room via window, staring wonderingly at the little being as he floated gently away. Observing once more, but this time as something much more than a passerby or a friend, or even a crush. This time, he was apart of the family.

Only her son's voice had alerted her to his presence- though really, how else could she have noticed him? He flew, didn't need to breathe as often as any normal person- for all she could tell, he might as well have been invisible. If it weren't for the brightly colored suit anyways.

At the time, she couldn't really bring herself to say anything to the man who had fathered her child. All she could do was stare at him in wonder, in hope, in awe- and no small measure of irritation. They had so much they had to talk about- and fight about. She hadn't forgiven him just quite yet. But it didn't matter right now: he was alive, and her son would grow up to know his real father.

She had finally managed to ask what had become somewhat of a trope between the two of them. _"Will we see you. . . around?" _He had replied to her with a smile, and said the words that made her sigh in relief.

_"I'm always around."_

He had said it. And it was true. She would make sure it would be. She refused to let herself lose him again, and now that he knew about Jason, she was almost positive he would stick around this time.

The fact that she needed those three, simple words to confirm it did not matter. He had said it; she had heard it with her own two ears; and Superman doesn't lie. Well, mostly. Obviously he had lied somewhere along the lines, because she ended up pregnant with an eerily powerful half-alien son. . . but that was a mental conversation for another time. Right now, all she could feel was the unmistakable joy of relief.

_"I'm always around."_

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**A/N:** Sorry this is so short! Just something in between that had to be discussed, nothing major. Hope you enjoyed, and REVIEW!


	4. Three Heartbreaking Words

**A/N:** Really quick uploading, I know, but it's really quick writing, too. Leave a comment please!

**Disclaimer:** I really really really really really really REALLY wanna own Superman. . .

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Three Heartbreaking Words

"Lois, listen to me. I can't go on like this. I don't know what's changed between us, but something has, and I think I can pinpoint about when it happened. Can you?"

The intrepid reporter could not meet his blue gaze, but she couldn't deny the truth behind her fiancee's words. She remained silent.

"Tell me the truth Lois. I know I asked before, but please, tell me. Put me out of my misery. Do you still love him?"

Again she refused to respond. How could she, when she knew she was about to break this man's heart?

After the pause, he finally continued. "Why?" he whispered, the sadness evident in his pained expression.

"I'm sorry," was all she could manage.

"No, Lois. For God's sake! We have a son! Think about Jason! Don't you think the boy needs his father in his life? Dammit, Lois! I love my son as much as you do-"

"He's not YOURS!" she shouted out.

Silence set in. Those three little words. . . the words Richard had dreaded hearing, but ultimately he knew they were the truth. For some reason, he felt as though he had always known that Jason wasn't his son, that those eyes were not exactly the same shade of blue as his own. But there was a difference in thinking it and having it screamed out loud at you.

Lois felt like crap right about then. She hadn't meant to tell him. Well, she knew she'd have to tell him, but she hadn't meant to in that way. His expression was heartbreaking. She had broken _his _heart with that one, stupid statement. How could she have just done that to him? He'd been the best partner- the best father- she could have ever imagined having these last five years, bar one. _"He's not yours,"_ she thought to herself. _Nice one, Lane. Like that's not obvious in pointing to the boy's father really was. _

Richard finally managed to close his mouth and looked at the floor. He tried to speak once more before finally giving up. He grabbed his coat off of where it was draped over the chair and slipped it on.

"Wait, Richard! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that-"

"I have to go," was all he replied, searching for his car keys.

"Richard, please! Where are you going? I didn't mean it like that!"

"How exactly did you mean it, Lois? That's not exactly an easy mistake to make! You don't just shout out to the man you've been living with for five years that the child he thought was his, isn't! Not without some sort of justification."

"That's not what I meant, either! Stop twisting my words! God, don't I even get a chance to explain myself to you?"

"Maybe later. Right now, I just have to get away. At least for a few days."

"Please, Richard. What about Jason?"

He quirked his lips in a snide smile. "He's not mine, remember?"

Lois looked completely crestfallen. Richard sighed, picked up his briefcase, and walked out the front door, shutting it firmly behind him.

Lois cried for an hour after that. All because she'd finally come out with the truth. To come to _his_ defense. Why? _You said it yourself, stupid. Because Jason _is_ his son._

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**A/N:** REVIEW THIS PLEASE! (this is me begging *grovels on hands and knees*) :D


	5. Three Revealing Words

**A/N:** Here's more! Enjoy, and please review!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. . .

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Three Revealing Words

Clark breathed in deeply, trying to force himself to remain calm. This was it. His last chance. He had to do it today. Now or never. He repeated all these crappy inspirational phrases which were providing no sense of security for him right now in his mind, as he continued to breathe deeply. He was just going to walk over there, and spit it right out. Consequences were of no consequence. Just power through.

Lois spun around to come face to face with the superhero. Her son's father. He hovered there uncomfortably. "Superman," she breathed. "I'm glad to see you."

He smiled as he touched down and approached her on foot. "I am, too, Lois. I know we haven't had a chance to talk much lately-"

"Things have been busy with Richard leaving-"

"And with me being Superman and all-"

"Yeah," she finished, leading them back into silence. Finally, Lois spoke up. "Look Superman, what is it you wanted to talk about here at the Planet? It's kind of. . . risky, don't you think?"

He shook his head. "I was here." Lois snapped her head up to look at him intensely. At her look, he clarified. "Around, you know. People always know you get your interviews somehow, don't they? What makes more sense than the roof?"

"Superman, I feel like you're avoiding the issue. Is there something bothering you?"

Clark paused a moment, turning away to face the edge of the roof, looking over the edge briefly. "I wish you wouldn't call me that," he spoke quietly, though loud enough for her to hear. "I don't deserve it, you know. It's not even my real name."

Lois felt confused. "Call you what? Superman? How do you not deserve that name? What about you is not super? You're a wonderful person." He grunted a response, to which Lois approached him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug from behind. He shut his eyes briefly, relishing her embrace, and then feeling guilty for doing so. Suddenly the weight of what he just said struck Lois. _It's not WHAT? _"Wait, what do you mean that's not your real name?"

Clark groaned silently to himself as she pulled away from him, turning him around so that he could look her in the eyes when he finally told her the truth. "I have another name. A real name. Two, actually."

"Two?" she echoed in a whisper, drawing away from him slightly. "What are you saying? You've got a pseudonym for every day of the week? Do you also have kids in countries across the world- a wife sitting at home waiting for you somewhere, and I was just some sort of fling? And here I thought I was something special, that maybe we could work something out. Wow. Some idiot I turned out to be."

Clark cut in before she could turn this conversation entirely around with her babble- before he even had a chance to explain himself to her. "Lois, you know that's not true. There's no one else for me- never has been. It's just. . . I haven't exactly told you everything about me. You still know me."

"How can I? You've just told me you're an entirely different person!"

"You still know me," he repeated with a different tone in his voice, hoping she'd connect the dots for him.

"No, I don't obviously! You're telling me that you're not just the superhero in blue tights but some other random guy whom I've never met and who could lead a completely different life from what I expected? How could you expect me to know you?"

"I didn't tell you who I was yet."

With that Lois shut her mouth. There was an audible click as she did so- and Clark took it as a cue to go on. "When I said I have two other names, you didn't let me finish. I don't have a third personality that I go around and masquerade as-"

"But you have a second?" Her voice was incredulous, accusatory.

"I'm getting to that. My point is, when I say I have two or three names, I'm really only one or two people." At the look of complete confusion on her face, he sighed and continued. "I was born on Krypton. Being from there, I naturally have a Kryptonian name. Which is Kal'El, by the way." Lois visibly relaxed. If that was all he meant by a second identity, then what was he so concerned about?

Clark suddenly acted on impulse and kissed her, full-on on the lips. Lois straightened in surprise, before relaxing into his arms and embracing him just as fully. But just as suddenly he jerked away and walked back towards the edge of the building, running a hand through his hair anxiously. Lois felt more confused than ever before.

"You're going to hate me for this," he muttered, shutting his lids lightly.

"Maybe if you'd tell me the truth for once, I would come to accept it. What, you actually have a wife and three kids in Paris or something? If you do, I swear to god, you'd better tell me, or you can bet that faster than a speeding bullet, I'll shove some kryptonite up your-"

"No, Lois. It's. . . well, I'm afraid in your opinion anyways it's much worse." She tapped her foot impatiently at him. He sighed, slumped over a bit, making himself look about two inches shorter, and carried himself differently. His voice went up an octave in pitch as he spoke. "Lois, I've told you I'm always around too many times to count. It's not just a metaphor. It's. . . well, it's literal. . . I guess what I'm trying to say is that. . . this is kind of backwards for me- normally I go through the whole "I'm Superman" routine, but since I'm already. . . yeah, well, here it goes. . . . Lois," he looked her straight in the eyes, her deep hazel eyes, and took a deep breath, knowing these three little words would turn both their worlds upside down. Forever.

"I'm Clark Kent."


	6. Three Spiteful Words

**A/N:** Quick upload, since i'm exhausted from trip to Disneyland (yay!) and I don't want to leave you hanging there any longer. . . ;P

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing with regards to this story. All the characters, scenery, etc. are owned and copyrighted by either DC or Warner Bros. You can only blame me for ruining their lives. :)

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Three Spiteful Words

Lois Lane blinked. Surely she had. Right? Either it was that, or she was dreaming. Because Superman vanished and was replaced by Clark Kent- ugly glasses and all. She stared with a look of shock, slack-jawed, and finally came to grips with reality.

Clark Kent was Superman.

_Clark Kent_ was _Superman._

Why didn't those two things seem to add up in her mind? After all, what with the similarities, and the odd coincidences- the fact that Clark and Jason looked more than a little alike- and that's not even mentioning him coming back to work the same day as Superman. . . okay, so it made more sense than she gave it credit for. But the simple fact that they were one and the same seemed to be mind-boggling still.

"Lois? Are you alright?"

His voice- no, Superman's voice, coming from Clark's body- broke her from her confused musings. She smiled graciously towards him, and Clark felt his heart plummet. The gleam in her eyes revealed a pain covered only by bitterness. That couldn't be good. "Excuse me," she spoke softly, turning on her heel and stalking over towards the edge of the building.

"Um, Lois, what are you doing? Don't go towards that ledge," her actions caused his heart to jump to his throat. She wasn't going to. . . she wouldn't. They had a son! Surely she wouldn't be so rash. . . Clark tried to reach out and stop her anyways, but he was suddenly cut off by her shrill screams.

Lois Lane shouted every imaginable expletive in the book to the wind, expressing her feelings of anger and frustration on the matter with every fiber of her being. Clark winced and covered his ears at her shrieks, trying to convince himself that this was good for her. She needed to let it all out. Vent. It was unexpected, yes- but pissed was better than suicidal.

Suddenly she whirled back on him. "You. . . you son of a b*tch. How could you do this to me? How could you let me believe that you were two different people when really you're not? How could you, even after Jason, knowing he's your son- how could you still not tell me this? Have I ever known? Would you have ever told me? Or have you just been playing games with me all along, huh?"

Clark's fear was evident in his eyes, but he found he could not speak.

"Answer me, Clark!"

"B-b-believe me, Lois, I-I've been trying to tell you, both ways, but you said it yourself- we've both been really busy lately. A-and I was a little scared of the reaction I might get."

"And how's this measure up to your expectations?" she shot back with a harsh edge to her voice and a fierceness in her eyes.

Clark winced at her scathing remarks. "Actually, better than last time so far."

She whirled on him, fury now blatantly obvious in her eyes. "Last time? So I _did_ know about this? Wait a second- this doesn't happen to have taken place right around the same time as when Jason was conceived, now does it?"

Clark tried to think of a response to that, but couldn't figure out how to explain it without pissing her off even more.

As Lois searched his face, she found an immense amount of guilt- over something more than just the present issues. He was _still_ hiding something- it was there, hidden behind the thick, heavy frames of his glasses, lurking in his impossibly blue eyes, just out of reach. Suddenly, it struck Lois exactly why he looked so guilty, and in that instant everything became clear to her. She squared her jaw and brought her hurt gaze to look him directly in the eyes as she whispered her question.

"It was you, wasn't it? That's why I can't remember."

The immediate reaction of pain on his features told her all she needed to know.

Lois felt the threat of tears stinging at the back of her eyes. _No_. He wouldn't have, she didn't believe he would take that much from her, how could he have done something so horribly selfish? What did he possibly have to gain from taking away her memories? She pushed down all her emotions, refusing to allow them to surface until a later time when he wouldn't see or hear her tears- though, could he always hear her? It didn't matter; right now, all she could focus her energy on was her anger and rage.

"I hate you," she whispered. And with that Lois turned on her heel, and stalked back down to the bullpen of the Daily Planet from the roof by use of the stairs. She needed the time to collect herself before she once more showed her face in the workplace, before facing *_him*_ again.

When Lois walked out, Clark felt his gut take a plunge- and it continued to fall, and fall and fall, farther than when he fell back to earth after his New Krypton escapade. This was what he had been dreading most. Lois Lane mad- no, Lois angry as hell. Lois Lane _hating_ him. Where did that put him now? _Back to square one, _he thought, berating his own carelessness. Wishing for not the first time these last five minutes that he'd never taken her memories, or that he'd ever left in the first place, Clark heard a siren. With a sigh and a heavy heart, he changed back into his Superman disguise and took to the skies, doing the two things he did best: saving the world and screwing up his relationship with Lois Lane.


	7. Three Tearful Words

**A/N:** Okay. So. I'm not sure how much I like this chapter. I go back and forth. We will see how you guys respond to it- if i've ever desperately needed feedback, then this would be one of those times! It's. . . well. . . yeah. I had to have something in here for transitional purposes in order to move on to the next stage, so this is basically here to bridge the mental gap i have between here and there. But i think i addressed some of the issues right- my only worry is that i may have left too much out. So review!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own much of this story, except the basic structuring and plotline. :)

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Three Tearful Words

Lois felt like she spent most of her time crying recently. After Superman's close call, discovering Jason's parentage, Richard's departure, and now the revelation that Superman was really Clark Kent- this time she was bawling her eyes out over a bottle of red wine and a tub of chocolate ice cream, while her son slept quietly in his room.

Why didn't he. . . why did he. . .

Aw, hell. There was no making heads or tails of any of it. She took another swig of the wine straight from the bottle and brushed away more tears as she stared emptily at her computer screen. Why couldn't she see anything other than his face in her mind? _God, I'm pathetic,_ she thought to herself. It had been a week since he had told her the truth about who he was- and over that period of time, Lois felt that she'd spent her anger towards him in quite a respectable manner. She never once spoke to anyone about why she was pissed off at Clark Kent- though she had made it rather obvious that she was.

And now, a week later, at the end of a particularly stressful workday- _now_, of all times- she began to feel bad for the man.

That in itself was enough to make her angry again. _No! Why can't I stay angry at him? _He _hurt _me_! He's in the wrong here!_

It was no use. Lois knew as soon as she started to feel this way, it was a lost cause. She could try to find every excuse in the world to stay mad at him. Hell, she _had_ every excuse in the world to stay mad at him! He had abandoned her, abandoned Jason, disappeared for five years, tricked her (and the rest of the world, but that was of llittle consolation) into thinking he was two different people, and had taken shameless advantage of her emotions on both sides of his personality, all because. . . because. . .

. . . _Because he cares._ And with that Lois lost all her infallible reasoning. She knew he had done what he had thought was best at the time- and the look in his eyes when she'd said she hated him the week before. . . it was obvious he regretted ever hurting her. Every time she had said some snide comment about him, or thrown a random object at him, or shot him nasty looks from across the bullpen, she saw the hurt in his expression- and no matter how cruel she was to him, the love.

Not that any of those emotions would replace her favorite coffee mug. But it both touched and angered her that she could be so awful to him and he wouldn't retalliate in the slightest.

She sighed in defeat and started typing up her article slowly, growing increasingly frustrated with the spell check program on her laptop, and found herself wishing briefly that Clark was here to correct it for her. As soon as the thought struck Lois felt her hands recoil from the keyboard of her computer, and she stared at the screen spellbound.

That was the first time she had admitted to herself that she needed Clark. Or wanted him. Lois grumbled to herself over not being able to phrase that sentence without sending her mind into the gutter despite her different intentions, but it didn't matter, really. Her admission was the truth.

Curse that man. Why did she have to move forward? She sighed and rested her head in her hands. "Oh, Clark," she whispered, shaking her head. Why? She'd lived without him for five years, and once more he had worked himself into her life so deeply that she couldn't extract him out of it effectively. This time without the so obvious use of a child. This was just completely cut and dry- she needed Clark for reasons beyond making everyone else happy.

It wasn't until then that Lois actually realized she might have been a little too rough on him today. She hadn't seen him today since he left to go on a rescue at about noon- after the coffee throwing incident- and hadn't spoken to him since then, either. Suddenly concerned about what the long-term effect of her actions might be, she felt the need to speak to him, even if he couldn't hear her or respond from this distance.

"I miss you," she felt her eyes tear up once more as she swallowed the lump in her throat. There was so much left unsaid, so much still to discuss. . . they had to start somewhere. "I miss you so much, Clark. I need you here, to take care of us even when we're not looking. _We need you_."

She turned her head to look out the window, partially hoping that he would be there, smiling at her with that sweet, loving, soft face, wanting to fly with him in his strong arms and be completely ensconced by the heat of his body. Hoping that maybe, if he weren't there waiting for her, she might at least catch a flash of primary colors as he left his quick check in on Jason, or hear the telltale whoosh of his cape through the wind. That he might stop for her, long enough just to exchange a kiss, a smile, a glance- that she might smooth out his uniform or fix his famous "Superman" curl, just to have the excuse to touch him.

But the balcony was no more exciting than the blank computer screen before her, and the only thing that was rocketting skywards was her pulse. Sniffling, knowing she had stumbled onto a breakthrough in their relationship with these various self-admissions, Lois repeated her words to herself in a whispered voice one more time- just to hear them fall off her lips, in hopes that he might pick them up with his own in return. "We need you."

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**Please Review! Help me out here!**


	8. Three Remorseful Words

**A/N:** Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to updating this one! I wanted to include Clark's response of sorts, but I wasn't sure what to do, and had no idea what else he could do to make Lois angry enough to throw her coffee mug at him at work. To solve that problem, I just made it as vague as possible. XD Anyways, I hope you enjoy! Leave a review if you can!

**Disclaimer:** If you happen to be a lawyer (or an aspiring one) who is reading random fanfiction stories just to try and nail someone on copyright infringement and make beaucoup bucks off of my neglecting to give credit where credit is due, then you're not going to get anything out of me. I own neither characters or locations in this story or any other. So there. XP

Three Remorseful Words 

Clark practically collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to spin out of the suit as he allowed his eyelids to flutter shut.

It had been an exhausting day.

Wildfire in California, tornado in Missouri, several muggings, a five car pile-up, bank robbery turned hostage situation, and to top it all off, Lois's stunt this morning.

Despite her actions and blatant hatred, Clark still managed to smile at even the slightest thought of the woman. He couldn't help but love her. That's what made it all the more painful.

She had almost ruined him today.

Although Clark had to admit, he wasn't entirely blameless for the situation. He had been acting like a bit of a jerk. Though Lois had more descriptive words for his behavior.

He didn't even know exactly what he had done wrong to set her off in the first place. Well, not the _first_ place- first place, but that day anyways. They were just working and conversing casually. He couldn't for the life of him even remember what it was about now. All he remembered was the shock that came afterwards.

Unfortunately for Clark, Lois had somehow misinterpretted whatever it was he had been talking about and thought that he was. . . mocking her, he supposed? It didn't matter. Whatever he'd said had led her to become irritated and short with him. Then all it took was a few more poorly placed wrong words and she was boiling with rage. In the end, all it took was him taking a sip of his ever hot coffee- and with a furious glance at her cold cup, she dumped the residue into the trash can next to her desk and chucked the mug at the back of his head with enough force to render a regular man unconscious.

Doubly unfortunate for Clark was that he was no ordinary man, and instead her favorite mug broke against his thick skull before he had time to think of what Clark Kent could do in the office to avoid the situation. He couldn't have caught it, or ducked- he wasn't fast or coordinated enough to do either as Clark. Instead, he lifted a clipboard up towards his head quickly and acted as if it had broken the mug instead of it breaking on his own head. He even cracked the board to top it all off and add to the illusion. Which had made Lois even more upset with him, though he could see in her eyes that she recognized what she had almost destroyed along with her coffee mug, and that she hadn't mean to act so rashly.

Then within the next fifteen minutes, he had to leave to go take care of that wildfire. He didn't get back to his desk at the Planet until about an hour ago, and he had hastily typed up his articles that he had missed- wincing at the prospect of the earful Perry would give him the next day. He left the copies on his editor's desk before heading home to sleep.

Only sleep was eluding Clark tonight. He was exhausted beyond all capable thought, but the events of the day prevented his mind from receiving that much needed rest. He scowled into his pillow, tossing over onto his other side. He sat up a moment and tried fluffing up his pillow, only to be frustrated again when he burst it open and feathers went flying everywhere. He sighed and in a flash had the mess cleaned up and grabbed a second pillow from the linens closet, settling under the covers once again.

Lois Lane would be the death of him.

He had come to accept it as a fact a long time ago- his two weaknesses were kryptonite and Lois Lane. And of course, that now included throwing Jason into the mix. A third weakness. He sighed once more. You tell the world you're invulnerable and all of the sudden they pull stuff out the wazoo of things you're powerless against.

Clark shifted again, grumbling to himself. This was not going to get him anywhere, just lying here thinking. So he did what he usually did, and extended his senses until he could hear his son's heartbeat, hear Lois's heartbeat. And he heard her sobs.

He felt a pang of sadness stab at his heart with the sound. He hated that this hurt her so much- and that he was the cause of all her pain. He never once thought that he would be capable of hurting Lois Lane- he had trusted himself to never do so much as to damage her physically or any other way. And yet here he was, doing practically nothing, and yet she still was hurting.

What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he ever manage to do anything right in his life? He quieted his mind suddenly, thinking he heard her speak his name, but after several moments of silence besides the sounds of her sniffling, Clark decided to tune her out. Listening to her cry was certainly not going to help fix the situation.

He sighed, staring at the ceiling as if it was the only thing keeping him from his Lois. "You know, I never really thought I would deserve you," he spoke into the empty night air, wishing his powers of super-hearing upon Lois Lane at that moment. "I still don't deserve you. I don't think I ever will. You're brilliant, and kind, and spontaneous, and a wonderful mother and an amazing woman all the way around. I'm just a guy that can do some crazy stuff. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that I'll ever be deserving enough of your love. But, God, I miss you," he found it soothing to talk to her, despite the fact that she wouldn't hear. He repeated his last three words, knowing how true they were. "I miss you."

Suddenly he turned his hearing outwards to Lois once more, hoping to pick up on something, anything from her, something as if to prove that she was listening. But his ears were met with a silence he couldn't deny, and he finally turned over in his bed with the full intent to fall asleep.

Clark ignored the thought that Lois had actually responded, believing for half a moment that she had said something along the lines of needing him. But he dismissed it as another part of his overactive imagination and hopeful desires, and finally found solace in the arms of rest instead of those of a woman he could never have.

****S****

**A/N:** Ta-da! Leave a comment if you found something interesting, funny, enjoyable, or even if you just read this. :)


	9. Three Apologetic Words

**A/N:** I've got the outline for where I want this story to go done! I really liked this chapter- was one of the best to write so far- hope you guys feel the same. Lois and Clark are finally about to move forward with their lives. I'll still take advice on things for this- they're all practically one-shots, so I can include anything you feel I missed and I will do so if I think it's a good idea (already made one addition based on a suggestion :D) So read, love, and review!

**Disclaimer:** Standard applies. Nothing owned, only borrowed for a rather long extent of time and hopefully I will remember to put the characters back where they belong someday...

Three Apologetic Words

Clark awoke with the sun almost every single day of his life. He used to think it was a consequence of farm life. When he learned of his Kryptonian heritage, he knew it was because the sun charged him with so much energy that he simply couldn't sleep any longer, except on rare occasions. It rarely ever bothered him, waking with the sun. But today it did.

He groaned and put his arm over his eyes, but it didn't do much good with the sunlight beating down on him. Clark sighed and finally pulled himself up out of bed. He floated across the room reluctantly and prepared for his day's work.

*****S*****

Lois watched as Clark walked into the office, his form hunched over and his gait timed slow. He seemed sluggish today, as if he hadn't gotten enough sleep- even though he didn't really need much. Or like he'd missed his morning cup of coffee. Something along those lines.

Lois knew the feeling.

She had barely slept at all last night, after all her revelations about Clark. She took a sip out of her second favorite coffee mug and once again felt upset with herself for destroying the first one. The only difference now was that now she wasn't mad at the man responsible for its destruction.

She had to tell him today. It was unfair to drag him along in this state any longer. Lois sighed, and decided to approach his desk after he sat down.

"Clark, we need to talk."

He appeared floored. She hadn't talked to him beyond the parameters of work life in about a week now. His mind was completely blank, only able to register that she spoke and that she looked incredible today in her tight-fitting red blouse and pencil skirt.

She stared at him expectantly. Clark gulped. "Um, okay. When? Er, Where?"

She gave him a funny look. _Am I that obvious,_ he thought to himself. "The roof. Ten minutes after Perry's daily board meeting. Sound good?"

Clark nodded, trying to think of something to say. Lois rolled her eyes and started to walk away. Then, like an idiot, Clark opened his mouth. "Y-you look really good today, Lois."

She just fixed him with a stare, an unreadable expression on her features. Then she turned around and stalked off once again.

If he knew it wouldn't break the desk entirely, Clark would be banging his head against it at this moment. Repeatedly. This was why he wrote- scripted things were easy. Writing gave you time to perfect every detail, to rework every aspect in every scene. Reality didn't let you do that.

Sometimes Clark wished someone else were writing his life. If someone was, then they were doing a hell of a job of it.

He sighed and turned back to his computer, just as he heard Perry's voice bellowing out across the bullpen to head to the conference room. _Not enough time._ He stood anyways, and succumbed to his eventual fate.

*****S*****

Clark was waiting for Lois on the roof of the Daily Planet by the time she got there. The second she appeared, he removed his glasses. During the fifteen minutes he'd had to think during Perry's meeting and afterwards, Clark had worked out the beginning of his conversation with Lois, and decided firmly on two things: one, that Lois would respect him more for being open and honest with her and thereby appreciate the removal of the glasses. He could tell by her expression already that he'd won that battle.

The second thing he'd determined was that he had to return her memories to her.

He wasn't quite sure how to get from point a to point b with that, but it had to be done. Hopefully the conversation in between would go as he rehearsed it in his head.

"Clark," Lois began, bringing him down to the present. He belatedly realized he had been silent since she came up here- almost a minute now? He blushed, but said nothing. She sighed. "Do you have any idea why I asked to talk to you up here?"

Deviation number one. "Honestly? No. But I just wanted to say that-"

"No, Clark. Me first this time. I wanted to apologize for the whole incident yesterday with the coffee mug. I would love to say that I wanted to apologize yesterday but you weren't there- but that would be a lie. In fact, I didn't want to apologize to you until late last night."

Clark wisely kept his mouth shut. She continued. "I couldn't sleep because of it. Do you know what it was I spent the majority of my night doing?"

"Crying," he whispered offhand. Lois snapped her head up to face him, and Clark immediately saw his mistake. _Aw, crap._

"What? What did you say?" Once again Clark shut his mouth. "So either you made a lucky guess- which would be quite insulting- or you were listening to me the whole time- which is an invasion of my privacy! Ha! And to think I was going to tell you everything- to bare my soul to you- and I was so nervous- and here you already know it all! Because you _spied_ on me!" She walked towards the edge of the building to get a burst of wind in her face.

Clark was completely off-script now, and he was incredibly confused. Torn between the pain of hurting her yet again and the hope that sprung in his heart at the discovery that she was ready to "bare her soul to him," he gently caught her arm and turned her towards him. "What? Lois, what are you talking about? I didn't spy on you. I heard you crying at one point in the night when I tried to listen for Jason's heartbeat- nothing else. What's wrong? What did you want to tell me?"

She looked at him dubiously. "You didn't keep listening to me?"

A pained expression entered into Clark's eyes and he shook his head. "No. No, I usually try to avoid listening when you're crying. I only listen a long time when I'm trying to punish myself. Usually, I'll listen for a while- but when I can't be there for you. . . it's too hard to listen for long. It's too painful. . . knowing I make you cry."

Something in that comment touched Lois, though that wasn't what she wanted right now. Well, she did, but not really. . . okay, so she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. Except the fact that she wanted the man in front of her. She looked to her high heeled shoes in avoidence of his sharp blue gaze. "What I was going to say. . . what I admitted last night to myself, was that. . . Jason needs someone."

Clark couldn't imagine his heart being torn in two so quickly. Hope and despair, in a couple of sentences. All at once. "Someone," he repeated.

Lois nodded carefully. "Yes, he does."

"Just Jason?"

She looked up into Clark's face briefly. "And me. I need someone to be there for me."

Clark's heart felt like it literally stopped beating a moment. He swallowed carefully. "Just. . . any sort of someone? Or. . . Someone? Someone specific?"

Lois stared into Clark's intense blue eyes, scared, but unwavering. "It depends."

Clark's breath hitched. "On what?"

"It depends on whether or not I can forgive him, and he can forgive me."

Clark stopped breathing. "Lois, you've done nothing that needs forgiving. I have- God knows, I have. And I can't expect you to give me that forgiveness after all I've done to you- but all I can say to that is that I'll beg you for it. I'm so sorry. I am so, so, incredibly, humbly, deeply, terribly sorry- for everything I've ever done to hurt you. I could apologize to you from now until the end of the world, and still not make up for it all."

"Clark-"

"Let me finish. Now, that's about all I can _say_ to get you to forgive me. And like I said, it will never be enough." He stepped closer to her, closing the distance between them and lifted her chin up towards his face gently. "But maybe, just maybe, this will bring us closer to resolving our differences."

He leaned forward slowly, giving her plenty of time to back away, to turn her face away, to smack him hard across the face. When nothing came, he gently pressed his lips against hers, then pressed more firmly. Lois's eyes widened in surprise at his actions before slipping shut again. Clark gave himself a moment to enjoy the kiss for what could possibly be the last time. This would make or break his relationship with Lois Lane- and he desperately wanted it to be the former.

When he eventually pulled away, Lois stood there with her eyes closed gently, in a daze. He waited for a few seconds- possibly the longest few seconds of his life- before she finally opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Clark stood motionless, still close to her, waiting for her reaction to gauge his own. She looked up at him with tears glistening in her eyes as the flood of memories washed over her, fresher than ever. She bit her lip to try to keep her tears from rolling, but it was no use. "Clark," she whispered, her voice catching. The look of apology and infinite sadness in his features at her speaking his name was enough to cause her to break down in tears. She leaned her head against his chest and let it all out.

Clark seemed surprised at first by her sudden breakdown and was stiff against her, but realized the need to comfort her was overwhelming any sort of necessity to sort out what was going on, what she'd seen. He wrapped his arms around her firmly, and her frame shook heavily against him. Clark stroked her back gently, clamping his eyes shut tight against the presence of stinging tears. "I'm so sorry, Lois. So very sorry." She cried more, and Clark felt his own tears running down his cheeks, his sorrow and pain almost unbearable now- except for the fact that Lois was pressed up against him.

"I'm so sorry," he repeated into her hair as their tears spilled. They stood there like that until both of them had calmed down and were no longer sobbing- but they did not let go of each other. This was what they had come to- this was Clark's road to redemption. And now that they had crossed this barrier, his road had finally been paved.

*****S*****

**A/N:** Again, tell me your thoughts! I hope you liked it, next chapter's going to be an extension of sorts to this one, more of Lois's perspective after all this stuff came out. Anyway, review please! Don't make me beg!


	10. Three Cautious Words

**A/N:** Hey there! This section is basically a continuation of the last chapter. It had to be done this way. Lois needs some things addressed and some time to process. So here's her response to the last chapter. I've officially decided that there will be seven more parts to this story, after this one. And don't worry at some points- as I hope I've said all along, I'm a Clois shipper. There will be a happily ever after, no matter what goes on (though it's not this chapter I expect most of you will be worried about. . . ). As always, read an review! I live off of feedback (and that's pretty much literal at this moment in time) XP

**Disclaimer:** Until I am served some sort of court summons for the destruction of and/or tampering with the characters, settings, and general ideas of the Superman franchise, I will continue writing these fanfiction stories. Regardless of the fact that I own nothing.

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Three Cautious Words

The breeze on the roof was strong, blowing Lois's hair into a tangled mess. His apology would have been enough to gain her forgiveness. If he'd have let her finish, then he would have learned that she was ready to forgive him and move forward with their relationship as soon as the night before.

But then he gave her back her memories.

Lois felt comfortable standing there in his warm, consoling embrace- so she didn't move. She had long since stopped crying- though she felt so fragile now that she could break down without warning at any given moment. But something about the way he wrapped his arms around her, combined with the memories he'd just returned, seemed to make everything alright again. The world seemed better in his arms than it did when she was out of them.

Finally, Clark spoke, his voice gravelly and hoarse from his crying. "Lois, are you alright? You haven't said anything since. . ." he trailed off.

Lois stood there silent and motionless for a moment before answering. "Yeah, Clark. I'm okay. Everything's okay now."

Clark felt hope flutter in his chest. He looked down at her brown head of hair, and leaned away from her, causing Lois to look up at him. "Everything?" he asked, expression full of hope.

Lois considered. Finally she spoke again. "No, it's not all okay." Clark's expression looked pained at this, and Lois put a gentle hand on his cheek. He flinched briefly, unsure of what would happen next, but relaxed into her caress. "But we can make it so it will be."

His features were lightened by a small, shy smile, worry erased from his expression. He embraced her again, wrapping her slight frame into his warm arms, pressing her tight against his body, never wanting to let go. She felt so perfect there, so wonderful. Clark felt complete. Lois breathed in his unique scent, wondering why she never caught on to it before. Coming to terms with the fact that she actually had at one point caught on before. Biting her lip, she asked her question. "What did you think?"

Clark frowned and looked down at her. "What do you mean?"

Lois tried to make him see her side of things, growing more uncomfortable by the moment, and pulled slightly away. "What was running through your head when you did it?"

Clark paled at the realization of what she was talking about.

"What, did you think I was going to commit suicide or something?"

It was Clark's turn to bite his lip. "Honestly, Lois, I'm not quite sure what I was thinking. I just didn't want to see you in pain. I still hate that feeling. You were hurting because you were worried that we could never be seen together-"

"Yeah, Clark, I gathered that," her voice dripped with sarcasm, but her features remained soft, staring into his face.

Clark paused a moment before almost whispering his words. "I had seen how dangerous it had been. I couldn't afford to lose you. So I gave you up."

"So that's it then? You couldn't afford to lose me one way so you decided to lose me another?"

Clark flinched. "Well, when you put it that way. . ."

Lois stared at him hard. "That's moronic, Kent."

Clark shifted before replying. "I would rather be in pain myself than see you hurt. The way I handled it- yes, it came back to bite me, but you would be alright. You would never have to feel that pain again. Wishful thinking, I suppose."

"And what about you?" Lois spoke up after another pause. "You don't have any right to be happy? To have anyone in your life just because you're Superman? That's not fair."

Clark paused. "I never claimed it was fair. But it's what seemed right."

Lois turned away from him, facing the city rather than him. "Is that why you left? Because of me? Not because of Krypton?"

Clark released a sigh. "Mostly. I couldn't handle the fact that. . . that I knew what we had, and yet you looked at me only as Clark Kent again. Like nothing happened." He bit his lip. "Like the rest of the world."

Lois looked pained at this and returned to his side, slipping her hand into his large, warm one. He turned to look at her with a small smile, but still with a sheltered look in his eye. She smiled up at him. "Well I don't care what the rest of the world thinks of you. I still think you're pretty great. I always have."

His expression lit up like a tree at Christmas. Clark took her face into his hands and leaned in to kiss her. Lois closed her eyes and parted her lips in anticipation of his.

But suddenly Clark froze. Lois frowned in disappointment before opening her eyes to see the expression on his face. "I know that look." She sighed. "This isn't going to be easy, is it?"

Clark looked at her apologetically. "Sorry. But you know I can't just let them-"

"Yeah, I know. But we'll make it work."

Clark grinned for what felt like the first time in forever. At least since he had revealed his true identity to Lois and she had turned him down flat. He placed a chaste kiss on her full lips before spinning into the suit and taking off at speeds faster than the naked eye could see.

Lois watched the sky after he left, and even though she doubted he could hear her at those speeds or this distance, she gave him her last well wishes. "Be careful, Clark." She closed her eyes gently, and for the first time in a long time, finally felt at peace with herself.

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**A/N:** Okay, so next chapter should go up in a few days. I'm actually close to finished with writing this story (YAY! Finally! A long story that I can say I've finished. . . Fingers crossed.) So hopefully I can wrap this up soon (soon being a relative term) and you can all have it to enjoy while I work on other stories! Remember, reviewing inspires me! It will help me write faster! *hinthint*


	11. Three Loving Words Lois

**A/N:** Hello there! This part is going to be written twice- once from Lois's perspective and then from Clark's. This chapter is Lois's perspective. I'm not sure how clear of a timeline (if any) that I've made, but in case you miss it in this chapter, this happens about three months after Clark's fall. I'm returning more to the vignette style, and spacing things out a bit. I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Mine, mine, mine! All mine! Mwahahahaha! Clark is all mine!

... Well, that was awkward. No, nothing is mine. Not even Clark. *cries*

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Three Loving Words- Lois

As they approached the door to Lois's new apartment, swinging their entwined hands back and forth slowly, Lois suddenly felt her pulse spike. She realized very suddenly that this was it. This was what it all added up to, wasn't it? Their first date- first real date, anyways, since he had returned- was over. And suddenly Lois felt the gravity of it all.

It had been surprisingly comfortable tonight. They had gone out to dinner and a movie together. Jimmy had volunteered to watch Jason for them- besides Perry, he was the only one who knew that Clark was really Jason's father among the office, though it had been the subject of some ruthless office gossip for a while there. Point was, they'd had a good time. Clark and Lois were already best friends, and parents, no doubt- though it seemed they were going about things in the backwards direction. They had joked, and laughed, and caught up with each other. And the romantic spark was there, too. They had sampled each other's foods, and shared a dessert. Clark had snuck in a quick peck on the cheek when he had picked her up for their date. They had even snuggled together a little at the movie theatre. And there was always. . . something. Something in his eyes, something that crackled in the air between them. An undeniable magnetism- a taste of what could be an amazing amount of chemistry, if only she'd let it be there.

But there was more. It was staring at her in the face, the second they reached that doorway.

She fought a rising bubble of panic. Suddenly Lois felt like she could see their entire future together. Clark and Lois. Lane and Kent. Lois and Clark, reporting on stories together once again, the best investigative reporting team in history. Lois and Clark, dating, smooching at the Daily Planet. Lois and Clark the couple, married at a small wedding with just her family and his mother, and a couple of friends. Jimmy and Perry, of course. Lois and Clark, parents to a rambunctious boy named Jason, with twins on the way and a hopeful few more in the future- Lois got the feeling that Clark would want more children. Lois, the mother, taking care of her newborn babies while Clark was off being Superman, returning after a particularly stressful day with her favorite chocolate from Switzerland and a bottle of wine from the finest wine country in the world. Lois and Clark, complete after too many years.

She could see Clark glance at her curiously- probably picking up on the increased speed of her heartbeat. She gave him a slight, nearly forced smile, and he returned it in full, his mega-watt grin outshining hers with such a brilliance that Lois couldn't help but smile wider. His smile melted her heart- and it was more than just his smile, or his looks at all for that matter. It was that pure, unadulterated hope that lay in wait in his expression; a wide-eyed innocence usually reserved for children that, despite all of the horrors he had seen and experienced in his life, he still managed to keep about him. Only when he was Clark could he look like that. Only with her.

And then it hit her.

None of those things in her prospective future with Clark scared her. In fact, they were things not to run from, but to look forward to. She wanted to spend her forever with Clark. Clark, Superman, and his pure, amazingly large heart. She had scorned him in the past, left him wondering what was left for him here, and had not necessarily welcomed him back with open arms. Yet still, he loved her. She knew he did. It was in his eyes when he thought she wasn't looking, in his posture when he straightened at the smallest mention of her name. In his expression whenever she walked into his line of sight in a room.

In his entire being right now.

Lois wanted to do anything and everything to keep that smile on his face, that bounce in his step, that glimmer in his eye. And she'd be damned if she didn't say she felt pretty near invulnerable herself whenever he was around, too. Something about his love made her love him more. Made her feel like the most important, most powerful person in the world- even though _he _was standing at her side.

As she reckoned with her feelings and her new revelations, Lois realized they had finally approached the door to her apartment. It had seemed like a much farther walk. She turned to face Clark more fully.

Clark took ahold of her other hand so that he held both of them between his fingers. She tried to keep her pulse down as he brushed his thumbs over her knuckles gently, but failed to do so successfully when he lifted her right hand and planted a petal soft kiss onto them. His blue eyes never strayed from her brown ones behind the thick rims of his glasses. Lois gulped, hoping to mask the majority of her feelings for the time being- but his brilliant smile showed just how much he loved her, too. She wondered if he even knew that his expression betrayed so much about his feelings for her, in all circumstances. Lois certainly hoped he could see the same coming from her, despite her original knee-jerk reaction of fear- fear of the unknown, fear of moving forward, fear of getting hurt. Now that she had moved past that, she was ready for anything- so long as she was with Clark.

Clark suddenly appeared to fidget a little bit. Lois furrowed her brow briefly. "Does someone need you?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm just a little, well, nervous I guess."

Lois felt herself grin at him. "Well at least that makes two of us."

Clark smiled briefly, and guarded look entering into his expression for a moment. "Lois, I had a really great time tonight."

Lois smiled. "I did too, Kent."

"I mean, a really great time. I don't think I can begin to describe how great a time I had. I mean, it was-"

"Great?" she asked, a smile playing across her lips.

He smirked at her. "Yeah. It was. . . super." He shifted uncomfortably and looked down at his shoes. "But," he began.

Suddenly that entire future that Lois had just envisioned and gotten comfortable with was shattered. With that one simple word, she felt as if the rug was pulled out from under her, and she was in free fall. Her stomach dropped as she waited for him to continue.

"But," he seemed to struggle saying that word. "But I don't think, I mean, I-I don't know if this is for the best. W-what if someone found out about me, and knew I was marri- in a relationship with you? Or knew that Jason was for a fact my son? What if something happened to you j-just because they knew it would get to me? If someone got you or Jason, I'd be powerless against them." He whispered his last sentence, as if even saying the concept aloud frightened him.

Lois hadn't missed his earlier Freudian slip, and despite the contents of the rest of his speech, still felt her heart flutter at the prospect of marriage to Clark. But she needed to correct his reasoning quickly if she was to keep him here this time. What had prompted this line of thinking? He spent the last three months or so since he returned trying to win her back- now they went on one date and he's squirming to get out? For crying out loud, he was practically repeating the same reasons as to why he left her in the first place! Fool me once, shame on you- or so the saying went. But Lois was not about to be pulled in with his same reasoning this time and be played the fool. "Clark," she began, but he didn't let her finish.

"Lois, hear me out. I-I know it might be too late- I mean, we do have a son together- for whom I will forever be grateful. And I will always be grateful to have you in my life. And I will always, always, always love you, Lois. But it's so dangerous-"

"Coward." She glared at him.

Clark snapped his gaze up to meet Lois's own steely one. "What?"

"Coward. I've been thinking, and I think I've finally found the right word for you- and it's coward."

His expression seemed a mixture of confusion, hurt and mild irritation. "Lois, I'm just trying to explain to you how many risks would be involved."

"Bullshit."

His jaw had dropped at this point. "L-Lois?"

"No, Clark." She extricated her hands from his to step closer to him and place an accusatory finger in his face. "This isn't about poor-Lois and there's too many risks involved and you have to go off and be all macho-superhero and sacrifice yourself to save the damsel in distress. You've tried that one before, and it didn't work. Just own up to it. You're scared."

His eyes widened before he looked sullenly to the floor once more. Clark bit his lip. "I'm not just scared, Lois. I'm terrified. Luthor got way too close last time. And then this last time, four days ago- I can't- _can't_ lose you. Not again. Not permanently. Not either of you."

Lois looked at him with a mixture of pity and sympathy. She hadn't realized that incident had shaken him up so badly- after all, he had saved her, they moved on. Like always. Or at least, she had moved on. Lois put a gentle caressing hand on his cheek and he closed his eyes, bringing his own hand up to cup hers. "Hey," she spoke, prompting him to open his electric blue eyes once again. "I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I'm always going to be in danger. It comes with the territory."

Clark gave her a half smile at her comment before sobering again. "But-"

"Kent?"

"Yes, Lois?"

"Shut up."

"Lois, it's not just a matter of whether or not you're in danger already or not. It's about yours and Jason's safety-"

Lois was going to get angry again. She didn't want to fight with Clark- not now, not after their first date. _And it had been going so well, too_. That's when the idea popped into her head.

She brought her index finger up to Clark's lips, effectively cutting him off mid-sentence. Clark gulped, obviously enthralled by the woman before him. She gazed at him under lowered lids and made sure her lips were plumped efficiently into an almost pout when she spoke her three words.

"Kiss me, Kent."

Clark's eyes widened for a moment, ready to protest in deference of argument when Lois hushed him again. "Just shut up and kiss me."

Finally, Clark succumbed to Lois's wiles and brought his lips gently to press against hers. And as they kissed, Lois knew there wouldn't be any more arguing tonight.

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**A/N:** Okay, so many of you are probably either upset with Clark right now, groaning to yourselves about how predictably unpredictable he is, or confused about what just happened and why Clark's mind would jump there automatically. Don't worry. Next chapter is Clark's pov, and hopefully it won't seem as if he's just jumping around from thought to thought with no feasible connections. And hey, I left you with a happy ending, didn't I? I could have left you in the lurch... As always, read and review! Otherwise you may never know what happens next! (Well, that's a small white lie... but still) :D


	12. Three Loving Words Clark

**A/N:** Here comes Clark's perspective! Just in case you were wondering what led him to make these jumps in reasoning and (nearly) break up with Lois for her own good. Just to let you know that there will only be *five* more chapters going up after this and yes... I am fond enough of happy endings that I will give into you on that count. XD So read, enjoy, comment and make my day!

**Disclaimer:** Clark is an adult. He is responsible for his own actions. I need not take credit for any owning of characters or forcing characters to act in any certain way. More often than not, they do things out of their own volition and refuse to include me in their scheming, moving ahead with their plots without consulting _me_, the writer of all people. However, I am satisfied to say that I managed to keep the characters on track for the duration of this story. =D

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Three Loving Words- Clark

Something was on Lois's mind, he knew. What he wasn't sure, but Clark knew it was something. Every now and then, her pulse rate would pick up and she would start swinging their entwined hands back and forth at a slightly quicker pace.

He hoped it was only happy thoughts. Unfortunately, mind reading was not on the list of powers Clark had received upon arriving to Earth. Life would have been much easier if it were, but that was the way things went. C'est la vie.

Tonight had been great. Wonderful. Absolutely perfect. No running off for a rescue- though there was one close call that he had failed to mention to Lois as of yet- but as it turned out, it had not needed his attention anyways. Still, it was an altogether quiet night.

There was no doubt in Clark Kent's mind. He loved her. He wanted to be with her and with Jason for the rest of his life. That was that.

_But. . ._

He hated his subconscious. Always kicking in at the most inopportune moments. He was on a date. With Lois Lane. Their first real date since he'd returned. They'd tried to go out before- but were stopped prematurely every time. The first time it was work- Perry had a breakthrough on a story and they'd had to get the exclusive. The second time, Jason caught some sort of bug from school- and ended up puking his guts out all over the floor before they'd even had a chance to get rolling. They were again thwarted a third time by a mudslide in South America that had been quite a job for Superman. And then, this last time, Lois hadn't shown up for their date- she was once more dangling over the jaws of death at the hands of some megalomaniac who wanted to get under Superman's skin.

_He succeeded._

Lois had brushed it off, thanked him for saving her, and went on as usual. Clark supposed being in danger so often must have numbed her sense to it- though he knew she had been seriously scared at the time. But the fact remained: the time it took for Lois Lane to bounce back from her close calls with death was incredible. Clark's recovery time, even though it hadn't been himself in danger, was much longer. He was still recovering from the mental and emotional trauma of it. He remembered it every time she was put in extreme danger- those little moments haunted him, followed him into his dreams, for life. Lois didn't even seem to remember it.

_It was four days ago. _

Clark berated his inner self once more. _She's okay now_, he reasoned. _She's alright, and she doesn't dwell on the past. That's a good thing. That's good for both of us. We're moving forward. We have a son. And she likes me! We had a great date. We have a great future to look forward to._

... _Don't we?_

He heard her heartbeat pick up once again and glanced a look at her- which she caught him at. Busted. Lois gave him a tight-lipped smile, one which made his heart drop. She didn't enjoy their date as much as he did, did she? She was getting uncomfortable with him staring at her, wasn't she? What had he done wrong?

Not wanting to betray his thoughts, Clark flashed her a big grin. Lois's smile became genuine at that, and her lips spread further into a grin to match his own. Clark felt his heart flutter at her look. Being with Lois was unlike any other feeling in the world. He felt new hope rise in his chest, pounding so hard that he was sure Lois wouldn't need super hearing to hear it, aching almost with his love for her. He wanted to reach out to her and press her against him, just take her entirely inside of him and never release her. She was the most amazing woman in the world- and she was with him right now.

_I'd do anything to keep her happy. _

His blood spiked at that thought, torn between excitement and self-loathing. He needed her to be happy. But the most important thing was that she was happy. And safe. What if she didn't want to be in constant danger someday? That would be her future with him. Danger, and running off at every turn, and Lois wishing he were there for her more often. What if one day he didn't make it in time? What if she decided that she'd had enough of his antics, of being in constant peril? Sure, it didn't bother her now, but someday...

All too soon, yet not soon enough, they reached the door to Lois's apartment.

_If she's not happy, I can't keep her,_ the thought intruded as Lois turned to face him more fully. He looked down briefly, searching out her other hand, and slowly raised it to his lips, planting a soft kiss along her knuckles, almost as a parting gesture. He felt as much as heard her pulse jump at the touch of his lips, and he raised his blue gaze to meet her own hazel one. He stared deeply into them, as though trying to read her soul, trying to make her see how much he loved her, to see if she really wanted him- _him_, forever. Not just Superman. And not just clumsy Office-Clark.

She must have picked up on his nervousness. "Does someone need you?"

Clark shook his head. "No. I'm just a little, well, nervous I guess." He shifted uncomfortably.

She grinned up at him. "Well, at least that makes two of us."

Clark smiled briefly, before fighting a rising surge of panic. She was nervous too? About what? Couldn't things be okay between them, just for once? He pushed down his fears for a moment, trying to compose himself long enough to converse with his dream girl. "Lois, I had a really great time tonight."

"I did too, Kent."

Clark didn't think she understood yet. "I mean, a really great time. I don't think I can begin to describe how great a time I had. I mean, it was-"

"Great?" she asked. He looked up at her slight sarcasm to find a smile working its way onto her lips. Those lips he wanted to kiss so much. . .

Clark managed a smirk. "Yeah. It was. . . super," he shifted uncomfortably in an effort to avoid Lois's gaze. He hadn't meant to say 'super' in that sense- it showed a little bit too much into his train of thoughts at the time. He looked at his shoes, toeing one foot against the pavement. He gulped, knowing this probably wasn't the right discussion for now, but he had to know before they went any further.

"But," he began before choking on his own word. He tried again, with little success, but eventually got it. "But. . . but I don't think, I mean, I-I don't know if this is for the best. W-what if someone found out about me, and knew I was marri- in a relationship with you?" He corrected himself before he made another Freudian slip. "Or knew that Jason was for a fact my son? What if something happened to you j-just because they knew it would get to me? If someone got you or Jason, I'd be powerless against them." He felt his throat crack and whispered his last words. His head was lowered. All he could think was, _what did I do, what did I do, what am I doing. . ._ Why did he open his mouth? It just all came tumbling out of him, his fears and worries all wrapped up into one, and despite the fact that he knew he should stop now, he couldn't stop himself.

"Clark," Lois tried, but he couldn't let her stop him just yet. If he stopped now, he knew he wouldn't get it off his chest.

"Lois, hear me out." He paused a moment to collect his thoughts at rapid speeds. "I-I know it might be too late- I mean, we do have a son together- for whom I will forever be grateful. And I will always be grateful to have you in my life. And I will always, always, _always_ love you, Lois. But it's just so dangerous-"

"Coward."

Clark snapped up his gaze to meet hers in surprise, feeling his mouth hang open in the slightest. She had interrupted him, mid-rant, and called him. . . "What?"

"Coward. I've been thinking, and I think I've finally found the right word for you- and it's coward."

Clark was floored, feeling pain at her scathing words and irritation by her. He pressed onwards. "Lois, I'm just trying to explain to you how many risks would be involved." _Why is none of this coming out right? I just want to know if she loves me, if she's in this for the long haul_. . .

"Bullshit."

Clark Kent felt his jaw drop in complete shock. He swallowed before speaking. "L-Lois?"

"No, Clark." He flinched as she removed her hands from his only to wave a finger in his face. "This isn't about poor-Lois and there's too many risks involved and you have to go off and be all macho-superhero and sacrifice yourself to save the damsel in distress. You've tried that one before, and it didn't work. Just own up to it. You're scared."

Clark felt his eyes widen as he took in her entire speech. In that moment he realized two things- one, she really did love him and did not want to lose him, and two, Lois was right. She was right. She was _always_ right. He bit his lip. No, she wasn't right entirely. "I'm not just scared, Lois. I'm terrified. Luthor got way too close last time. And then this last time, four days ago- I can't- _can't_ lose you. Not again. Not permanently. Not either of you."

He chanced a look briefly into her face, but once he caught sight of her eyes, he found he couldn't turn away. Her expression had gone from one of anger and frustration to one of sympathy and maybe even some pity in such rapid succession. She understood what he was saying, he knew. And she wanted him still. When her soft, slender hand rested gently against his cheek, Clark closed his eyes, relishing the feeling. He brought his own hand up to cup hers, mostly to ensure that she wouldn't remove said hand from its destined place.

"Hey," her voice glided into his thoughts smoothly, a comforting tone to it. Clark opened his eyes to meet her gaze once more. "I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I'm always going to be in danger. It comes with the territory."

Clark gave her a tight-lipped smile. He knew _that _was true. Lois Lane had enough troubles to begin with, even before the world thought she was dating an alien. Hell, before the world thought there was such a thing as an alien. Then he sobered again. "But-"

"Kent?"

He matched her gaze evenly. "Yes, Lois?"

"Shut up."

He tried once more to make her see sense- or rather, to test their relationship to see if it would withstand all of the turmoil it was sure to undergo in the future. "Lois, it's not just a matter of whether or not you're in danger already or not. It's about yours and Jason's safety-"

Lois was going to get angry again, he could tell from her posture. And from her expression. And just from the fact that he had gotten so good at reading her over the years- he knew that Mad Dog look anywhere. But then, unexpectedly, she brought it under control. It looked as though a light bulb had gone off in her head.

Clark gulped as she brought her index finger up to his lips, effectively cutting him off mid-sentence. He stared at her face, trying to avoid the fact that her body was so close to his while in the middle of an argument, but he couldn't help his straying gaze at some times. Even her expression was seductive, her lips the perfect size for kissing- and Clark so desperately wanted to do just that. Well, just that and more. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, and Clark's throat went dry when she licked her lips- feeling as though he were in a desert and that was the only source of water. . .

"Kiss me, Kent," she spoke in hushed tones.

Clark's eyes widened for a moment, ready to protest in deference of argument when Lois hushed him again. "Just shut up and kiss me, Kent."

Finally, Clark couldn't wait any longer. His conscience was soothed. He loved her. She loved him. They wanted each other. Neither of them were ever going to leave each other by their own free will, no matter the consequences- and he knew that now. They would take their troubles as they came. Clark leaned down and pressed his lips softly against hers, then much more firmly. She parted her lips against his, and Clark moved to deepen the kiss. Finally, after what seemed like forever, yet was not long enough to satisfy either of them, they parted for air. They rested their foreheads together gently, and Clark's next words came out almost as a slow, deep rumble.

"I love you."

Lois brought her beautiful, heated brown gaze up to look into Clark's face, and Clark's heart sped up even more than it had been beating before as she smiled- the most beautiful, sweet, tender smile as he'd ever seen there.

"I love you too, Clark."

Clark himself broke into a grin, giddy with happiness, and once more captured her lips for a long, passionate kiss, and he had them both gasping for breath before Lois even unlocked her door and led them both inside her apartment.


	13. Three Pained Words

**A/N:** Welcome one and all! Firstly, I'm not sure why I didn't realize this before, but this fic is rated K+. Which is equivelent to PG. Which means that a certain amount of language is not allowed. Not that I think I've used much in this fic, but in the last couple chapters, and a little in this one... So, just to be safe, I've changed the rating to T. Which was what I thought I had it rated as to begin with, but oh well. On a happy note: I am officially *done* writing this story! /applause/ This will be my first lengthy fanfic that I've completed and posted- ever! You get four more chapters after this, so please review what is left and give feedback! I will spend my extra time working on other stories that have been abandoned for longer than I'm proud to admit...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own things. Period.

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Three Pained Words

Richard stood right outside the elevator in the Daily Planet bullpen. He had stepped off, but faced with the sudden daunting task before him, had frozen in fear. Some of the employees- at one point Richard's coworkers- gave him funny looks, or just nodded to him. He didn't pay attention to anybody, except for one person.

Finally he gathered up the guts to move again and strode firmly towards Clark Kent, occupied at his desk.

Clark froze and steadily raised his gaze to meet Richard's angry one. He gulped. "R-Richard."

Richard folded his arms. "Hello, Clark. Mind if I have a word?"

_Yes, yes, yes, yes._ "U-uh, n-no. Not at all." Clark saved his work on his computer and stood up. It was not lost on Clark that Richard's eyes followed his form as he rose to a height several inches above the man, and was sure to slouch over. "So, the, um, conference room?"

Richard seemed to think a moment before responding. "No. The roof."

Clark raised an eyebrow at the man, but felt his throat go dry at the location he named. _Does he know?_ "All right," he dragged out. "The roof then." He turned and walked off towards the elevator, but quickly noticed Richard wasn't following. "A-aren't you coming?" He stammered in confusion.

Richard blinked. "Yeah, yeah. Right behind you." He finally began walking again, trying to ignore the whispers and glances they were attracting around the bullpen. Everyone knew now what had happened between Lois and Richard- relatively. And they knew of the new office gossip- Clark Kent was Jason's father. And beyond that- Clark Kent and Lois Lane were officially an item. It was easy to see how quickly he slid into the role of father, boyfriend, lover. The role Richard used to have. He shook his head.

The elevator ride was long and awkward. The two men stood as far apart as possible without being blatantly obvious, though each knew what the other was doing. Clark fidgitted. He rarely rode the elevator- not up to the roof anyways. He most commonly just flew through the shaft for emergency rescues. Of course, Richard couldn't know that. But that didn't mean the man still didn't feel the strain of tension radiating from Clark as they rode up at a snail's pace.

When the doors finally opened, Clark breathed a sigh of relief, but knew he was only trading one awkward situation for another. _Still,_ he thought to himself,_ at least we aren't boxed up any more._

Richard walked towards the edge of the Daily Planet rooftop, looking over it- noting how precariously high up they were. For a moment his thoughts were clouded with one strong desire- something inside him compelling him to just jump over the ledge, and for once in his lifetime, really fly. It would be easy, and Richard had no doubt that it would be exhilerating and terrifying all at once. The best adrenaline rush a person could ever feel- with the wind racing through his hair and his body free from everything around him, the sound of his heart thundering in his chest and wind whipping at his ears drowning out any and all sounds that might come from around him. It would be a moment of solitary peace, of absolute freedom, and complete and utter happiness. The urge to jump was unlike that of any other Richard had experienced in his entire lifetime.

But he didn't want Superman to rescue him. And even if he did want to jump, he couldn't yet. He had to hash things out with Clark first. So instead Richard White just stood there, staring curiously at where fate might lead him over this ledge.

Clark must have sensed his thoughts. "Richard," he began slowly.

"It's weird. Being back here after six months almost. Seeing all these people who I thought were my friends. People I went out drinking with, whose articles I've edited. People I'd trusted, Clark."

Clark swallowed, trying to supplement the dryness that seemed to have settled in his throat. He opened his mouth to speak, but Richard cut in before he could do so. "And yet they'd just as soon replace me as Lois did."

Richard saw a pebble lying on the edge of the building and leaned forward slightly to pick it up. He rolled it between his fingers as he spoke. "You know, it's odd. Lois never, not once, mentioned you in all the time of your absence. And even when you return, nobody, not even Lois, bats an eyelash. Except for maybe Jimmy- but to be fair, Jimmy's always been a weird one. And he picks up on everything. No, the odd thing is, everyone seemed to be. . . under this spell. Like you belonged here but no one could figure out why, like you should never be heard and if rarely seen. Like they all knew you'd be coming back for her." He suddenly turned to look Clark intensely in the eye. "Coming back for _him_."

Clark couldn't respond to this. He didn't know what to say, and if he said something he didn't know whether or not it would reveal too much. He still didn't know what Richard knew.

At the lack of response, Richard turned back to the ledge. Taken over by impulse, he grunted and cast the pebble over the edge of the building with all his might before bringing himself back under control. He sighed and leaned over, resting his elbows on the ledge and resting his face in his hands.

Clark tried for speech again. "Um, Richard. . . I don't know what to say. I mean. . . there's nothing I really can say. Nothing will make it any better. I know that this hurt you, and you probably blame me for a lot of things- and rightly so. B-but, you have to understand the position I'm in, too. And Jason. I mean, he's just a kid. He doesn't know what's going on between us all. You can be mad at me all you want, but you must agree that that boy is. . . he's. . . he deserves better than for his parents to fight like this. All three of us." Clark looked at Richard intently, noticing that once more the other man was peering over the edge of the building with a cold, calculating eye. He gulped. "I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend. I-It's not very safe."

Richard turned fiery blue eyes upon Clark. "And I suppose you would understand that concept. Not safe, my ass," he spat. Clark shifted uncomfortably. Richard brought his temper back under control as he turned away once more, taking in the Metropolis skyline. "And you are not my friend. Far from it."

They stood in a long silence, neither man speaking for fear of causing the other to erupt. The air crackled around them with the intensity, with the tension growing between them. Finally, Richard White spoke.

"You know Clark, I have a story for you. It's about a man, who lost his family, and just about everything else along with them. He lost his family to a man he never even knew existed, and had nothing left to live for. Except for one thing- that he might one day find the courage to approach this man who stole his family, and tell him off, or hurt him in some important way." He paused to let that sink in for the reporter. "But there's only one problem: I can't figure out how. How do you hurt someone, when he has everything, and when everything he has you can't take away because you love them all too much? How can I hurt you, Clark?" He pierced him with a pointed, fierce blue gaze, squaring his jaw as he spoke again. "How?"

Clark felt all of the color drain out of his face and swallowed hard. "R-Richard?"

"Say the word, Clark."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Yeah, the hell you don't. How can I hurt you, Clark? Name your poison."

Clark was ghostly pale now, but his gaze remained fixed firmly on Richard White, unwavering. He opened his mouth as if to protest, but saw what little good it would do and promptly snapped it shut.

Richard snorted. "Yeah, that's what I would have done, too. Not much defense left."

Clark looked at his feet a moment before removing his glasses. He held them in his hand nervously before returning to look Richard in the eye again. "Look, Richard, I don't know what to say. I'm-"

"You're what? Sorry? Ha! Kent, if you were really sorry, then you would have came out and told me right off the bat instead of waiting to see what I figured out. You would have explained to Lois better at first so that I didn't just run off believing Superman was Jason's father. I would have fought harder. Or maybe I would have moved on better, and not be as pissed at you as I am today, right now. I don't know. But whatever you are- superhero, reporter, father, liar- sorry is not one of them."

Clark looked pained. "Richard, I never meant to hurt anyone. You have to believe that. I didn't even know about. . . about Jason. . . before I left. I only left because I was trying to help Lois. To protect her. I had no idea. . ." he let his sentence trail off and looked Richard warily in the eye. The man seemed to be eyeing the edge of the building with a little too much interest the entire time they were up here. He worried the man might try something desperate. "Um, Richard, please. . . don't go and do anything rash."

Richard arched an eyebrow at him. "What, like I would jump off this rooftop knowing a flying man's right there to catch me? Don't be ridiculous Clark. If I was going to, then you can bet I wouldn't have invited you up here with me."

Clark felt his gut clench up. "Richard, please listen to me."

"Listen to you? You? That's rich."

"Richard-"

"You know what, no! No. I'm not going to listen to you anymore. Don't you see? I don't ever have to listen to you again. Not at the office, not at my house, not ever! I don't even think I'd listen to you if you were Superman giving an evacuation order to the entire damn city!"

Clark gulped and reached out towards the troubled man. He placed a light hand on Richard's forearm and repeated his name in his best, placating, Superman voice. "Richard."

He jerked his arm away violently and stepped away from the superhero, his anger exploding out of control. "Damn you, Superman! Damn you!" Clark took a step back, cautiously eyeing the man's features. Richard swore and ran his hand down his face to cover his mouth briefly. His features were contorted with an immense amount of pain and anger- pain that Clark had put there, he noted sadly. "You took everything from me! Everything! Don't you realize that?"

Clark's mouth hung open, but he had nothing to say. Richard swore again and crumpled to the floor in a heap, gathering his legs to him and burrying his face in his hands. "My life, my family, everything," he whispered. He ran a hand through his hair and shut his eyes tight against the world. "Damn you, Clark Kent. You, yourself and Superman can all burn in hell or some place worse for all I care. In fact, I'm begging you to. Just leave me alone."

Clark felt his heart break for the man whose life he had stolen. Whoever had said that all was fair in love and war was blatantly lying. There was nothing fair about this. Nothing fair enough to fix this. Finally Clark spoke. "I never meant to hurt you, Richard. I never meant to hurt anyone. And I'm truly sorry that I did." Richard didn't even move, didn't give any sign that he'd even recognized that he had been spoken to at all. Clark sighed and leaned against the wall behind him, next to Richard. He fiddled with the glasses in his hands, occasionally rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Silence resounded between them, the only sounds being the wind holwing and their words echoing in each man's mind. Clark didn't dare to break Richard's introspective again, and so just settled in for the long haul.

Richard didn't know how long they sat there in silence like that. Too long, maybe. He had been waiting for Clark to go, to leave him alone up here. But Clark seemed determined to stay as long as Richard would, for fear that he might, in fact, do something rash. He hadn't even flown off for a rescue- and Richard knew there had been the opportunity. Clark had looked away as though listening in the distance twice now, but never did anything except turn his head back to stare off into space. Occasionally, the man would glance down at the roof, frowning, before brushing it off and returning his gaze to his little patch of sky.

Richard couldn't take it any longer. He knew he had to go. It had to have been at least an hour. He couldn't stand another minute in this man's presence. He breathed a sigh and brought himself to his feet, effectively breaking Clark from his reverie. He brushed off his pants before extending a hand to his opponent. "Well, bye Clark."

Clark looked at Richard with an expression that spoke equal parts confusion and concern. He tentatively took Richard's hand in a loose shake. "R-Richard?"

Richard heard the man of steel's unspoken question, and shrugged. "One of us has to end this pissing contest. Might as well be me."

Clark seemed struck by what Richard said and was about to protest, when Richard raised his hand to stop him. "I know that's not what you meant by it. It was a joke. I really should be going. My plane leaves tonight."

Clark swallowed. "So soon? I mean, don't you want to stop by and see Jason or something?"

Richard's throat went dry. He did. He desperately did want to go see Jason, even if just to say goodbye. No matter what else happened, he knew in his heart that Jason would always be apart of him, and part of Jason would always be his son.

Clark saw the man warring with himself. "Please, Richard. He misses you. He hasn't seen you in a long time."

Richard closed his eyes. Whether Clark knew it or not, his words hurt. It was like a pain stabbing at his heart, knowing his son was hurting- and he had been the one to hurt him.

"Richard?"

He sighed and his eyes fluttered open, meeting the blue gaze that he knew best coming from his son's face. "It's too hard. And too dangerous. If I see him, I might never leave. And I might kill you," he smirked.

Clark felt his heart break for his son. As much as he wanted to have his son's affections all for himself, he knew that Richard would always hold a place in Jason's heart that Clark just couldn't touch. He might love him just as much, but he could never fully replace the father he'd had for the first five years of his life. The two men would be completely seperate entities to Jason, and there wouldn't be any comparison between the two. "But-"

"Clark, please stop," he whispered, and suddenly Clark realized that it broke Richard's heart too. He was giving up, he was letting him have the life he wanted but simply didn't deserve. Richard closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. But his voice still broke over his words. "Just thank me and let me go." He rushed past Clark towards the elevator, waiting impatiently for the doors to open to take him as far away from the man of steel as possible.

The doors opened and Richard rushed inside, pushing the button for the lobby frantically.

"Richard."

Richard snapped his gaze up to look into Clark's apologetic, pained expression. The man gulped, before whispering. "Thanks."

Richard nodded, tears clouding his eyes, as the elevator doors closed on the picture of Clark Kent.

As soon as they did close, Richard slumped to the floor in defeat.

* * *

**A/N:** So? Thoughts? Questions? Comments? Happy about the rating change? Disappointed with the characters? I've given you plenty of talking points to choose from. Leave a review, if you please. :)


	14. Three Sweet Words

**A/N:** Three more to go! Three more to go! Yay! Also, I wanted to let you all know that I'm going to be posting a list of all of the "three simple words" in each chapter on my profile page, in case you're curious. And no, I'm not going to go ahead of where I am at in the story, so no spoilers.

**Dsiclaimer:** Same as always. Just read and review.

* * *

Three Sweet Words

Clark sighed lightly, not letting his face show that anything was actually wrong. He had finally tucked his son into bed, but he was worried.

Something was off about Jason tonight.

Lois was out on a story, and had left Clark in charge of watching Jason for the night- so, homework, dinner, flight around the world and a movie it was. Not that they didn't spend many nights like this, but there was. . . something just wrong about tonight. And Clark couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

All night long, his son had been unusually quiet and brooding. There were times when he was prone to do that- Lois had told him as much. She had said that after the incident with Luthor, nearly a year ago now, he had gotten very quiet, told him why. Jason had gotten much the same when Richard had first left, when Lois had been mad at Clark for about a week, and then again two months or so ago after finding out that Richard had abandoned him once again.

He couldn't blame the kid for being down sometimes. He'd had a pretty rough time recently. But when not even flying could pick up his son's spirits for the night, he knew there was something bothering the boy. Clark gave his son a smile as he pulled the covers up tight around his small form. Jason averted his gaze. Clark frowned.

"Jason, is there something wrong? Are you okay?"

Jason flicked his gaze to his father's caring face briefly. "Yeah," he sighed heavily as he spoke.

Clark hadn't been at this parenting thing for very long, but he knew that tactic. He was brushing away the question in hopes of the matter either being dropped or getting Clark to draw it out of him. Clark had been guilty of doing that himself in the past. He couldn't let the issue slide.

"Jason, you know you can tell me anything, right? You can trust me. What's the matter?"

He sighed heavily again and turned on his side, not facing his father. Clark waited a minute, and just when he was about to ask again, he heard his son whisper quietly.

"Maisie doesn't like me."

At this Clark felt his spine stiffen. Who was this Maisie? How dare she not like his son? Was he being bullied by her at school? Was it someone else? His mind flitted around restlessly before he leaned over and mussed his son's brown hair affectionately. "That's ridiculous, Jason. Who on earth or any other planet could possibly not like you?"

Jason turned to face his father with tears brimming in his bright blue eyes. "_She_ doesn't. She likes Billy instead."

An "oh" look must have passed across Clark's features. He hadn't even thought about that aspect. His son was only six, after all. A first grader now. Then again, Clark distinctly remembered being quite taken with the little red headed girl next door when he was Jason's age or younger. _We Kent men fall so young_, he thought to himself, slightly chagrinned.

Clark gave a sigh himself and sat perched on the edge of his son's bed, wondering how on earth he could explain all of this to him. He didn't think he would be the best candidate to broach this topic- after all, he was still figuring this relationship thing out himself. But as he stared into his son's wide, pained eyes, he knew he owed it to him to try to explain.

He scooped his son into his arms in a warm embrace, one which Jason did not protest. He heard some sniffles burried into his shoulder. "Oh, Jason, I'm sorry." He pulled his son away from him slightly to look into his face. "There's no way she can't like you. Maybe she doesn't like you as much as you like her yet, but she likes you. And if she doesn't, then it's her loss. You deserve better than someone who doesn't appreciate you. You are a wonderful, amazing, incredible little boy, Jason. And I'm so proud of you."

Jason gave a slight smile before concern furrowed his brow. He settled back under the covers with an appearance of apprehension. Clark frowned. _Now what?_ His son suddenly turned a scared look up to Clark's searching face. "But..."

"But what?" Clark's own concern was evident now.

There was a pause between them for a moment. "Does that mean you and Mommy won't be together anymore?"

Clark appeared stunned. "Wh-what?" he spluttered. "Why on earth wouldn't we be?"

His son picked at the comforter on his bed in avoidance of his gaze. "Cuz. . . Mommy said the reason you weren't here before was because she didn't appreciate you. Why don't you deserve better? You gave up before, now you tell me to give up. Why not now?" his voice lowered to a whisper.

Clark's throat closed up on him. Oh, how the tables had turned. He looked Jason in the eye steadily, ignoring the tears welling up in his own. "Jason, that's not it at all. I am so, so sorry that I wasn't here before. But it has nothing to do with your mommy not liking me or me not liking her. Or you for that matter. It was all a big mistake. You know that. We've been through this before." He placed a comforting hand on Jason's arm.

His son solemnly nodded. "I know. But. . . you promise you won't leave us?"

Clark felt his heart plummet. His son really had that little faith in him? Richard really had done a number on him, walking out like that. Jason's ability to trust another father was obviously something he was going to struggle with... although, Clark supposed, he was as much to blame for causing these isuues in the first place. But no, it was still different. Clark's actions had been a mistake. Richard had made a conscious choice.

How did a six year old boy cope with that sort of betrayal?

Clark brought his mind back to the matter at hand and swallowed, knowing what he had to do. What he'd been waiting to bring up to the boy for almost a month now. "Jason, I promise you, so long as your mother wants to have me around, I'll always be here. I love you and your mommy too much to ever stay away from you again. You'd have to beat me back. I'm here to stay."

Jason grinned. "Good. I don't want you going anywhere."

Clark shifted his position on the bed, hovering briefly to get himself resituated. "There's something else I wanted to ask you about, Jason. You're a big boy now, and I hope you know that I wouldn't ever do anything you don't want me to do. But you're important to me, and I don't want to mess this up. Okay?"

Jason gave him a suspicious glance- one that was most definitely inherited from Lois. "Um, well... o-kay..."

Clark smiled reassuringly at his son before sobering once more. "Jason, how would you feel if I asked your mommy to marry me?"

Jason's expression was blank for a moment. "Marry you?" he asked.

Clark had put his heart in his little boy's hands. He certainly hoped he wouldn't break it. He nodded, now at a loss for words.

Jason looked down at his sheets. "Marry you," he repeated once again. Clark's face was etched in fear- and if the boy didn't react beyond that soon, Clark was going to have worked himself into a full blown panic.

Suddenly, Jason laughed. Clark snapped his head up at the sound to observe what had caused his son's change of behavior. "What?" Clark asked warily.

"It's perfect!" he replied, and Clark felt his heart soar. "Maisie will _have_ to like me then! We'll be married! Ha! I bet Billy didn't think of that." He grinned triumphantly.

Clark's heart had once again fallen, and he found himself holding his breath as it registered with him just what his son was refering to. He would have smiled, except that he still didn't know the young man's decision. "Jason," he asked hesitantly. "What about me?"

He looked up at his father quizzically. "What about you?"

"You know. Marrying. Your mom."

"Oh. Don't be silly. Of course you can marry her."

"Jason, I know what I _can _do. What I want to know is if that's what _you _want. Would you be okay with this?"

Jason met his father's blue gaze and suddenly realized he was being serious. It was strange- no one ever trusted him with the serious stuff. Except for his mommy, sometimes. And Mr. Clark.

"You wouldn't have to call me Dad or anything like that. I'm not here to just replace Ri... your other father. I just want to live happily here with you and your mommy. If you want. And I mean, I don't know what-"

He smiled up at him brightly. Apparently, he liked to ramble, too. Jason effectively managed to cut him off by jumping into Clark's arms. "I know. I want to. I want you to marry Mommy. I think she wants to marry you, too."

Clark's heart swelled with happiness. He couldn't imagine a happier moment existing his entire life. He scooped up his son into his arms tighter and felt the presence of tears stinging at his eyes. He shut them tightly, a smile gracing his features. "Thank you," he whispered into Jason's ear. He planted a soft kiss onto his son's hair.

"Love you, Daddy," came the whispered response, almost unsure.

Clark pulled back, tears in his eyes, and he stared at his son's face in absolute wonder. "I..." His voice cracked as he tried for words once more. "I said you didn't have to call me Daddy if you don't want to."

"Don't you remember? I already said I wanted to."

Clark thought back to his son's exact words the moment before, and a brilliant smile broke out on his face. "You did, didn't you?"

Jason nodded, his own smile matching his father's.

Clark pulled him into a fierce hug once more, reminding himself almost belatedly not to crush the boy, but Jason's own grip was quite tight around his neck. He relished in the feeling. "Can... can you call me that again?" he whispered, wondering if he could have possibly imagined it all.

"Daddy?" Jason asked as he moved slightly so he could look in his father's eyes searchingly. His smile never slid from his face. "I love you, Daddy."

Clark's eyes drifted closed gently as the words struck him powerfully once more. He brought his gaze back up to his son's face- his beautiful, wonderful son's face. "I love you, too Jason. More than you can possibly imagine."

Jason eventually began drifting off to sleep in his father's arms, but Clark couldn't bring himself to let go of him just yet. Instead, he floated them above the bed gently, brushed back the covers, and settled them both together on the bed. Father and son just lay there, Jason asleep and Clark wide awake, his son in his arms, unable to remove his eyes from the boy's peaceful expression. Not even Superman could pull him away from this right now. He couldn't hear anything beyond his own heart thundering in his ears anyway.

Eventually, even Clark fell asleep. At rest, and completely at peace with the world.

Lois had come in late that night, seen the duo asleep and walked back to her own room with a teary-eyed smile.

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**A/N:** WAFFy and sappy enough? I thought so. Read and review, if you so please!


	15. Three Hopeful Words

**A/N:** Two more to go! Look for the updated "three words" list on my profile (again, no spoilers!) and more will come soon! Hope you enjoy and come back and tell me in a review!

**Disclaimer:** Nothing is owned. Only dreamt up.

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Three Hopeful Words

"Clark, hurry _up_. We're going to be late."

Clark smiled. He could practically see the expression on her face.

_You can always see that, dummie,_ he berated himself.

Clark cast a glance through the walls and satisfied his inner voice by noticing that her front was turned away from him. _Ha._ However, it took everything in Clark's willpower to summon the strength to look away from the low cut scoop of the back of her dress and return to the conversation at hand.

He walked out at a casual pace, putting his glasses in place on the bridge of his nose. "Superman is never late," he boasted proudly as he walked towards her and wrapped his large arms around her waist from behind. He pulled her against him tightly. "And might I add that you look absolutely ravishing tonight."

Lois rolled her eyes at his antics. "Yes, but you see, Superman isn't coming with us. I'm just bringing my partner, mild mannered Clark Kent. And he, on the other hand, is notorious for being late." She fought a wry smile as she cast a glance over her shoulder at the man's bespectacled face.

Clark couldn't help but press a kiss along her jaw. "Well then, Miss Lane, it seems we'll be arriving just on time then- if they're expecting us late."

"Maybe it would be better to bring Superman," she muttered with a smirk that was slowly melting away to a contented smile as Clark pressed more warm kisses upon her skin.

"Mmm, yes, perhaps. But you're forgetting that Superman can't ravish you or attack you with fiery kisses in public the way Clark has the potential to."

Lois spun around in her boyfriend's strong arms and suddenly found herself kissing him, pressed up tightly against his body in the form-fitting suit. It was a good couple of minutes later by the time they'd managed to stop themselves, breathing heavily.

"You know," Clark half-panted, "we could just avoid the tardiness issue altogether and just stay here for the night. No special date night dinners with friends or awards or interviews or anything. Just you and me and that nice big bed of yours. I'm sure Jimmy wouldn't mind..."

"Clark," she chided, turning away from him to go and check her hair in the mirror, fixing it in the places where his hands ran through her curled locks. She released a sigh. "Jimmy's our friend. Best friend, even. And he's getting an award tonight for that photo series he did on the Superman orphanage rescues. We have to be there."

Clark's brow furrowed briefly at the remembrance of the terrible event, but Lois walked back up to him and kissed the frown off his face. Her hands ran up his chest, but Clark pulled away sharply before she could reach the breast pocket and feel the small, suspicious box through the smooth material. He removed her hands from his suit, and looked at her with a strange, almost fearful expression. Lois shrugged it off as she spoke. "No time for brooding, tonight, Superman. We've gotta go." She patted his shoulder gently and turned on her heel, grabbing her purse and her keys.

Clark caught up to her. "You know, Superman could always make an appearance, you know. Drop us off if it's quicker. We don't have to drive."

Lois rolled her eyes at him as she locked the door to her apartment behind her and started walking. "Now how would that be good? First of all, you know how messed up my hair gets when we fly. And second of all, don't you think that would take away from Jimmy's night? This is his time to be the star. Superman or Lois Lane or even Clark Kent aren't going to be in the limelight tonight."

Clark froze in place, his features fearful. He hadn't even thought about that. What his plans would do to poor Jimmy. Jimmy deserved his time in the spotlight, too. Perhaps more so, since Lois and Clark always seemed to be in it. Well, now what?

Lois turned and saw he wasn't following. She frowned. "Coming, Clark? I thought you'd gotten over your fear of my driving," she teased.

Clark slipped his sternest I'm-not-lying Superman face on quickly and lengthened his stride to catch up with her. "Lois, I don't think I'll ever get over that fear," he quipped.

Lois arched an eyebrow at him, but said nothing as she turned away to push the button in the elevator. He had his I'm-covering-something-up face on. She'd seen it on Jason's face too many times to count. But she'd have to work extra hard to figure out what that meant in this situation. Well, for now they had to deal with almost missing Jimmy's event. She smiled. "Hey, maybe at least with my driving we can make up for lost time." She didn't miss the expression of fear that elicited from Clark.

*****S*****

"This is really nice, Clark."

"I aim to please," he responded, a twinkle in his eye as he lifted his wine glass in a toasting gesture before taking a sip. She smiled widely at him and responded to the gesture in kind.

Clark's eyes dropped to the table briefly. Dessert should be on its way. He'd gotten through the night without interruption so far. The peaceful lull they seemed to inhabit now was the perfect timing. Even better than it would have been a week ago in front of his friends at Jimmy's award ceremony.

"Is something the matter?"

Clark cleared his throat. "Um, no." He steeled himself to move forward. "Lois, I-"

_"Help! Superman!"_

He released an irritable sigh. As he listened further he realized it was going to be a nasty pileup of cars and people if he didn't try to help soon. He shot a nervous glance at Lois. Maybe he could stay, just to get out what he had to say... but no. He wanted to be there for more than three seconds to catch her response. Besides, the longer he waited, the more people who would be hurt. His face fell.

"Gotta go," Lois finished for him.

Clark resigned himself to his fate and nodded, standing quickly and putting on his jacket to leave. "Love you," he whispered as he took off.

"Yeah, love you too, hun."

*****S*****

Clark sat at his desk in the Daily Planet bullpen, staring at Lois Lane. It had been a week since the debacle at the restaurant, two since Jimmy's award ceremony, and he still hadn't had the chance to set up another date night with Lois.

And he still hadn't proposed.

He'd had a chance to think about it all, and he wondered just how bad of a person he was. Was he really that self-centered? That he didn't even think about his friend's feelings and just brushed past the fact that proposing to Lois that night would have taken away from his success? And then- had he really considered abandoning people in need for his own selfish gain? As it was, there had been four casualties at the crash site and numerous injuries. Could he have really done such a thing? He hadn't believed so before, but now... Clark sighed.

It had been two weeks now. Jimmy's stardom was waning thin, if nonexisitent. You're only as good as your next story, as Perry would say- or in Jimmy's case, his next shot. The bullpen had moved on.

Maybe he could propose right now, in the office. That would be surprising, to say the least. He had the ring with him. The fear of rejection- though less than likely- still coursed through him. No, it probably wasn't a good idea to propose right now.

Maybe later, once the Planet had mostly cleared out. Or maybe they could go up to the roof and he could propose there- first as Clark, then Superman? Or vice versa? A play on the idea of Superman proposing crossed his mind, but he dismissed it for now. Or he could just take her to dinner again and maybe this time-

"KENT! My office. Now."

Perry's voice sliced through his inner musings. Clark stood automatically and made his way through the office with some forced difficulty. When he made it to the doorway, he knocked lightly on the frame. "Y-you wanted to see-"

"Shut the door and sit down."

Clark tried to keep the surprise from showing on his face as he complied. Usually his boss at least waited for him to finish a sentence. He tried to speak again when Perry cut him off once more.

"Now, normally, I don't like to get involved with the personal lives of my reporters."

Clark cracked a small smile at this. His boss somehow always got involved with their lives.

"But when things affect work performance, I have to take an interest. Now lets cut to the chase, shall we? What's going on between you and Lois lately?"

Clark frowned. "N-nothing, sir. You know we've been dating a while now-"

"That's not what I meant. I know that much- I'm not blind, deaf and stupid. You two lovebirds have been the butt of office gossip just about since you came back about nine months ago. All that aside, something's been off with you this past couple of weeks. You seemed like you were walking on air, then something happened and it's like you're the old Clark Kent again. You've been jumpy ever since the night of Jimmy's awards ceremony. I can't have one of my top reporters not on the top of his game. So I ask you once more: what's going on? Trouble in paradise?"

Clark shook his head at his boss slowly. "No, no. It's been no trouble at all. In fact, I think things have been going better than ever. It's just," he glanced around nervously before disclosing his secret to his boss. "I've been trying to find the right time to propose to Lois. I was going to try after the awards ceremony, but decided against it, and then each time I try again it's like something else comes up. I don't know, Chief. It's just sort of frustrating." He scowled at his folded hands in his lap.

Perry's surprise only manifested itself in the form of an arched eyebrow. "You have the ring already? On you, I mean?"

Clark nodded and produced the small box from his inside jacket pocket. He lifted the lid briefly to show Perry a glimpse of the rather expensive looking rock that he would never be able explain how he afforded it. Neither could he admit that he had needed Superman to help procure it.

Perry nodded. "So why don't you just ask her? At home, on a stakeout- does it really matter how or where or when? I mean, seriously son, what are you expecting? Hot air balloons and yachts and fireworks and maybe convince Superman to fly you to the Eiffel Tower where you can have the best in French cuisine? 'Cause if that's what you're looking for, then I've got news for you, son: it ain't gonna happen that way. Never does, never will."

"I know that," he spoke in a slight huff. "It's just that... we've had to wait for so long. I want it to be perfect."

Perry chuckled at the reporter, optimistic almost to a fault, at times. He stood and opened the door to his office, "Clark, you know Lois loves you. But besides you and Jason, what's her favorite and most loved thing in the world?"

Clark frowned as he rose from his chair. "Um, well, work I guess-"

Before he could even get that sentence out, his boss' voice boomed once more across the bullpen. "Lois! My office, pronto!"

Clark sighed and began to try to move his way past his boss, but was stayed with an outstretched arm blocking his path. He frowned once more at his boss' gesture, but did as he was told. As usual.

"Yes!" Lois' voice rang out in response as she made her way to Perry White's office. "Finally, Perry! God, please tell me you've got something on this guy, Chief- all my leads have completely dried up, and-"

"Not now. I actually don't have any specific leads for you."

She blinked at her boss as she finally reached his office and stepped inside. She cast a curious glance in Clark's direction, who seemed just as surprised and confused as she was. "What do you mean?"

"I only have one request."

"Oh. Well, shoot. What is it?"

He gestured with his thumb in Clark's direction. "Marry him, Lane."

Silence fell upon Perry White's office. Clark looked at his boss with a horrified expression, which Perry just shrugged off. The boy had never said he couldn't tell anyone, had he? Lois seemed confused and she glanced at Clark, taking in his shock and looked between the two men. Obviously, they'd been cavorting about this matter, and Perry had either dropped the ball, or more likely, purposely betrayed Clark's secret. "Clark?" she managed.

Clark turned to look at Lois with a mixed look of confusion and shyness. He cast a glance back at his boss, who gestured for him to get on with it. A slow smile steadily crept across Clark's features as he fished for the ring box out of his pocket once more. Lois gasped as she suddenly realized it was in fact for real. Clark sunk down on one knee and fixed his gaze on Lois' face.

"Well? So what do you say?" Clark cast a glance back at his boss, who was biting back a chuckle, and rephrased the older man's inspired words. "Marry me, Lane?"

Lois stood speechless.

*****S*****

Outside in the bullpen, Jimmy's eyes were attracted to Perry's office by some movement in his peripheral. He looked curiously at the scene, watching Clark sink down to his knees- no, just one knee. His eyes widened as he realized just what was going on. He nudged the nearest person to him, who happened to be Grizzly Lombard, and suddenly a sizable crowd was watching the events through the open blinds of Perry's office- from a relatively safe distance.

Lois seemed shocked at first, and didn't seem to respond whatsoever. Clark started to squirm nervously, and seemed on the verge of scrapping the entire thing, when Lois said something. Clark's expression lit up- his entire body suddenly shooting straight up as he slipped the ring on her finger.

Then they kissed. Passionately. That much was obvious to the rest of the bullpen. After a few moments of complete silence in appreciation for their coworkers' happy moment, the quiet was suddenly broken by a cheer coming from Lombard. Followed by which came several other whoops and whistles, until the majority of the bullpen was applauding and cheering for the happy couple.

Clark and Lois suddenly seemed to notice they had an audience and pulled apart, seemingly mystified by the fact that the blinds had been open the whole time. Lois gave her coworkers a condescending smirk and lifted her left hand entwined with Clark's for all to see. Clark seemed ready to burst at the seams for his happiness, and he planted a sweet kiss in his now fiancee's hand. Then Clark gave his own smirk, and in a swift move unheard of for Clark Kent, dropped the blinds to their boss's office and effectively blocked them from prying eyes.

Jimmy smiled as they all turned back to their work. Lois and Clark reemerged a few minutes later after the Chief kicked them out of his office.


	16. Three Joyous Words

**A/N:** This is the second to last chapter. It's bittersweet, but it's been fun. The next chapter is more of an epilogue, so you could call this the last chapter... but anyways. Hope you like it, and I hope you're not too mad at me... for skipping the wedding! *cringe* Sorry. I couldn't do it. Besides, "I do" is only two words. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** You know what goes here.

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Three Joyous Words

Lois nervously twisted the rings on her finger. She was rarely ever this nervous. _You're being ridiculous, Lane,_ she chastized herself. _It's just Clark. Your husband._ Briefly she allowed herself a smile at the wedding band on her finger. It had been six months already. . . and at the same time, it had only been six months. She shouldn't have to be worrying about things like this so soon into their marital relationship. Not that there was anything wrong with their relationship, or that she was scared of this bend in the road.

But that was just it. There was nothing wrong with their relationship right now. For once, no bad guys were attacking, no daily kidnappings, Jason was happy and doing good in school, work was going great and Superman was able to handle more without sacrificing his family or work time. Could they balance yet another responsibility?

She chastized herself once more. Of course they could. They were Lane and Kent, kickass reporting team. He was Superman, she was Mad Dog Lane. They could handle anything that came their way. They'd been through hell and back to be together, and nothing would faze them or diminish their love for each other.

Least of which a tiny symbol on a little white stick. No, their love could only grow from here.

The front door swung open suddenly and Clark walked in. "Hey honey, I'm home." He slammed the door shut behind him.

"In here, Clark," Lois called out, wringing her hands nervously.

He walked into the room with two full paper grocery bags in his arms. "Before you ask, yes, I picked Jason up from school and dropped him off at your mom's house for the weekend, safe and sound."

"Good. Um, Clark-" she tried, but he cut her off and started to unpack the groceries at a normal speed.

"And I stopped off at the grocery store on my way home, to pick up some supplies."

"Clark-"

"I figured that we could take advantage of Jason being out of the house and we could have a romantic weekend together. And so, I got some special ingredients for a romantic dinner for two, courtesy of yours truly: Rigatoni al forno con Clark Kent."

"Cla-"

"And for dessert," he fished through one of the bags and pulled out a can of whip cream, a tub of ice cream and a bottle of wine. He set the ice cream down on the counter and held the other two up in his hands as he rounded the corner of the counter to face his wife more fully. "I figured we could get creative and see where this goes after the wine's all gone." He grinned wickedly.

"Clark, I'm pregnant."

The wine and the whip cream slipped from his hands- the former shattering on the floor as the cap popped off the latter and whipped cream exploded all over his shoes. Clark didn't move. "What?"

She smiled at his expression. It was as if he couldn't decide whether he should jump up and down out of joy or faint from shock- likely he was leaning towards the latter. And she was the one who usual experienced the dizzy spells.

Suddenly it seemed to register with him what she said, and he walked up to her carefully. He placed both hands gently on her arms and looked into her eyes, too scared to let his expression show his joy just yet. He had to be absolutely certain first. "You're sure?"

Lois's smile widened. "Positive," she said as she held the test out to him.

He took it into his hands, and upon seeing the little plus sign, was no longer able to contain his excitement. "Oh my god, Lois. You're pregnant. You're pregnant! We're going to have another kid! Oh, honey-"

"You're happy?" Lois asked, though she knew the answer to her question before it even came out of her mouth.

"Happy? How on earth could I _not_ be happy right now? Of course I'm happy! I'm ecstatic!"

Lois fidgetted. "It's just. . . it seems a little too soon. . ." she let her sentence trail off.

He wrinkled his nose in confusion. "Too soon?"

"Well, I mean, not that it's _too soon_-too soon, but it's just. . . we haven't really tested the waters yet. We're still just getting used to things. How do I know that you- that we can handle this already?"

Clark heard her Freudian slip- noticed the worry in Lois's expression- and immediately put two and two together. He sobered. "Lois, I know what you're worried about."

"You do?" she asked dubiously. She wrung her hands nervously.

"Yes; and I can tell you for a fact that there's never going to be that issue again. Trust me."

Lois's defenses came crumbling down and she burried her face against her husband's chest as the tears started rolling. Clark wrapped his arms around her protectively. "It's just. . . last time. . . we took things too fast and. . . and you ended up disappearing for five years and left me and Jason behind. . . and I know you wouldn't do that again, and it wasn't on purpose the first time, but. . . I just wanted time to get used to things. . . how they are. You know? I mean. . . not that I'm not happy we're going to have another kid, I wanted more. . . but. . ." she finally just gave up on talking altogether and she just cried.

"Shh, honey, it's alright. Everything's going to be okay." Finally her tears subsided and Clark pulled her away slightly so that he could bring his hand up to cup her chin. "Hey," he looked into her eyes lovingly. "Don't you ever think for one second that I would _ever_ run away from you again. What happened before was a horrible mistake, and trust me when I say I'm not going to be repeating that again. I love you. And I love Jason. And I already love whatever we decide this baby's gonna be named- I wouldn't trade any of this for the world. You of all people should know that."

"I know," she whispered. "I don't know what just came over me- but I guess finding out, all by myself, when you weren't home yet- I don't know. It just threw me for a loop. I'm sorry."

Clark shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry about. _I'm _the one who's sorry." He leaned in and pressed a slow, gentle kiss onto her lips. "I love you, Lois." He planted another soft kiss onto her lips. "I love that I'm married to you." He kissed her again, breaking off to punctuate every sentence now with the soft planting of a light kiss upon her lips, her jaw, her throat. "That you're so beautiful. And smart. And determined. And I love most of all that you are carrying my child inside you right now. I wouldn't trade that for anything."

Lois's hazel eyes glistened with joy and her heart soared. Finally she pulled him in for a kiss, and they lingered for as long as Lois could hold her breath before parting. Clark leaned his forehead against his wife's and smiled at her. "I suppose it's a good thing the wine broke anyways, now," he joked. "It wouldn't have been much good."

Lois chuckled. "You could have still drank it," she pointed out.

Clark shrugged before grinning. "What's the point? I only drink socially. Otherwise, I'd never fit in." In a flash, he had gone and cleaned up the mess and returned to his wife's side once again.

It was Lois's turn to grin at him. "Come on. Let's celebrate."

Clark kissed her full on the lips. His hands roamed her curves, and already could feel the passion rising within them. He followed her to the bedroom. Sure, this would change their lives, once again, but it would be worth it. Because Lois was pregnant. Because he was about to have another child. Because he would get the chance to be there for this baby. Because he loved her.

And that was all that mattered.

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**A/N:** Only one more to go! Leave a review while you can- I would greatly appreciate it! Tell me if you liked this part- or if you're mad about missing the wedding, but it's just the way the story came out. I'll give you brownie points for reviewing and as an added bonus I'll let you in on a secret that won't be revealed until the next chapter... not that it's much of a secret. XP But review anyways!


	17. No Words at All

**A/N: **This is it- the end! A nice way to end your weekend, hopefully! Short and sweet. It's been a fabulous ride, dragging you along with me on this story. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did. If you did, please review! This is your last chance to do so!

Also, a couple of notes: before you ask, the answer is yes. This story is loosely connected to another story of mine- "Superman's Daughter." You'll see one of the connections in this chapter, and in future chapters of that story (parts involving Jason). As you can see from the chapter title, there are no words this chapter- but I felt it was best that way. Again, please leave feedback for me! I need to know how successful this style and story was. Let me know if there's anything you wish was explained better- yes, I know the timeline is loose. It's not mentioned clearly, but this story concludes about two and a half years after "Superman Returns" (aka- Jason is seven years old. That's how I kept track of it best).

Enjoy, folks!

**Disclaimer:** I own this story and this story alone. Characters and locale are property of Warner Brothers or DC Comics or whoever else may have a share in that.

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No Words At All- Epilogue

Clark sat carefully on the bed next to his wife- both careful not to jostle her and careful not to be seen floating above the matress. He stroked her arm gently, her skin slick and smooth to the touch. He perused her features, his gaze wandering up her body slowly as he took in the rumpled gown she wore, the pale, sweaty sheen of her skin, and her face.

Her face.

Her beautiful, beautiful face. That face like an angel's with her dark hair spread out on the pillow behind her, flowing beautifully against the white of the fabric, a perfect contrast to her pale, almost porcelain skin.

Her lips were drawn into a proud, gentle smile, pink and luscious despite their near chapped state. The expression those lips curved into was what Clark would call perfection.

Her brown eyes weren't just brown- they were irridescent, a deep molten chocolate color that showed some flecks that just barely qualified them to be hazel. And those deep, brown orbs had a certain sparkle to them that Clark couldn't recall seeing there before except for on rare occassions.

Of course, at this precise moment, Clark himself was not the recipient of her radiant stare, or her enthralled smile. Though Clark could hardly say he was jealous of her attention.

He, too, couldn't keep his gaze from wandering away from his beautiful wife to the little miracle that sat bundled in her arms.

Clark had only seen her eyes once, since she'd fallen back asleep, but he knew they were his. An almost unnatural blue, that had gazed up at him widely and with questioning, as if trying to figure out who exactly he was. His voice had soothed her, as if she had recognized it from all the times he had spoken to her while she resided inside her mother's belly.

Her features were much like her mother's. Her skin pale, the little hair she'd had was the same dark shade as Lois' tousseled locks. She had the same nose, and much the same mouth, too, curved into a slight pout as she finally slept in her mother's arms.

The cry belonged to Lois, of that Clark was nearly sure. He hadn't arrived on Earth young enough to hear any horror stories of his cries, anyways. But the tone, coupled with Clark's lung capacity, would make things difficult in the future, that was for sure. Not that Clark cared even one bit.

Speaking of Clark's inheritance... well, he wasn't sure what to think with that. From what Clark knew about Jason's birth, it had been a difficult one. He'd been born prematurely at seven months- Lois and Richard only believing it was six- and various health issues had ensued. As far as he could tell (and that was quite far, for Clark), his baby girl was born healthy and not a moment too soon. Her grip was strong- though, Clark guessed it had nothing to do with his strength. After all, everyone always said that babies had strong grips. Still, he'd like to think that her firm grasp had something to do with him.

But it wasn't any of those things specifically that made him love her. They made him love her more- the fact that she seemed to be the perfect mixture of himself and his wife. His Lois. But he couldn't use any of those things to justify or explain why he loved her. It was something completely different from any other feeling in the world. It was strange and wonderful and empowering and humbling all at once.

Lucy Lane Kent. Lara-El. God, it sounded so beautiful. She was so beautiful. No longer content to just stare, Clark reached out to touch his baby girl once more, his daughter. He stroked her soft, dark hair gently- just the barest of touches. Lois glanced up to look into her husband's enthralled face, so full of wonder. Clark's eyes slid over to meet hers. He tried to speak, but no words would come. Lois seemed to understand what he wanted to say. His features settled into a softened smile, and he gently kissed his wife's forehead. They didn't need words. If they could sit like this, staring at their newborn daughter in silence for eternity, Clark couldn't imagine ever being happier. But he would be. He could picture his entire future, and it was beautiful.

Finally, _finally_, Clark Kent felt his life was complete.


End file.
